Trump Offers Putin Trade Deal to End Ukraine War
Kremlin: Trump offered Putin renewed trade with the US by phone in exchange for ending the war in Ukraine, with a Trump, Zelensky meeting expected around September 20
A one hour phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, marked the first direct contact between the two presidents since US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner separately visited Moscow and Kyiv this week. For Belgrade, which is pursuing European Union accession talks while maintaining traditional ties with Russia, any shift in Washington’s relationship with Moscow recalculates the Balkans’ position: a faster deal on Ukraine would open room for easing sanctions on Russia, while a stalemate would prolong the pressure on countries in the region to pick a side.
The Kremlin was the first to disclose the call. The White House did not immediately confirm that the conversation took place and declined to comment on the Russian account of it. Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy adviser to the Russian president, briefed reporters in Moscow on the substance of the call, describing the exchange as constructive and fairly open. According to Ushakov, the two presidents compared notes on the outcome of the recent visits by the American envoys to Moscow and Kyiv.
Ushakov said Trump directly tied an end to the war to a full restoration of US-Russian relations and to expanding trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Donald Trump clearly conveyed the idea that an early end to the conflict would be desirable.
The adviser added that the American president makes no secret of his interest in personally marking the outcome of the negotiations.
Donald Trump is interested in achieving a breakthrough during his term.
Ushakov was reluctant to reveal much more about the rest of the call.
You understand yourselves that the conversation was confidential, so I can hardly share many important details.
According to the Russian side, the call also touched on the state of the military operation in Ukraine, along with a message aimed at Western capitals worried about the conflict spreading to NATO members.
It was emphasized that we have no aggressive plans toward Europe.
The Kremlin did not announce any concrete agreement or a date for the next contact, citing the confidentiality of the call. Moscow continues to demand Ukrainian territorial concessions in Donbas and for Kyiv to abandon its NATO membership bid.
The call followed the trip by Witkoff and Kushner, who met separately with Putin in Moscow and with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. A three day pause in fighting held during their visit, but attacks resumed as soon as it expired: at least five civilians were killed in Tuesday’s strikes on Kyiv.
Zelensky called the American envoys’ ideas decent, but remained cautious about whether they can actually be carried out.
We need to understand whether we can implement them and make them work. I still don’t know if it will succeed.
The Ukrainian president also stressed the significance of the visit itself.
It is very important that the delegation came to us. It is very important for us to do everything to end this war.
The Srpske novine portal has reported in recent days on Witkoff and Kushner’s train arrival in Kyiv and the start of talks, on Zelensky’s warning that the war could drag on through the winter, and on Russian strikes on 29 locations across Ukraine. This phone call moves that timeline one step further, from the level of envoys to the level of the two presidents, with a concrete economic offer now part of the negotiating package.
Zelensky said he hopes to meet Trump around September 20 and that he will ask for additional anti-ballistic missiles to defend Ukrainian cities at that meeting. Whether that Washington meeting produces more than a single phone call did, or becomes just another stop in a series of talks with no date set for the next move, only the meeting itself will show.
