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Putin Would Be More Useful if He Ended the War in Ukraine, Trump Says
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US President Donald Trump stated that Vladimir Putin wants to be helpful regarding the situation in the Middle East but would be more useful if he ended Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters, Trump was asked about his March 9 phone conversation with Putin and what specific topics the two leaders discussed.
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The US president described the call as “very good” and noted that many people were on the line from both sides. One of the main topics of discussion was Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump remarked that the situation is an endless struggle and pointed to a significant level of animosity between the two leaders.
“We talked about Ukraine—it’s just an endless struggle… There’s a lot of hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. They just can’t seem to reach an agreement,” Trump said.
Despite this, he maintained that the conversation was positive.
The two leaders also talked about the state of affairs in the Middle East. According to Trump, Putin expressed a desire to be helpful in that region. However, the US President told him that ending the war against Ukraine would be a much more significant contribution.
“We talked about the Middle East, of course. And he wants to be helpful. I said, 'You could be even more helpful if you ended the war between Ukraine and Russia. That would be more helpful, '” Trump emphasized. He concluded by saying the call was productive and that Putin intends to act “very constructively.”
Since the beginning of 2026, Ukraine, the US, and Russia have held three rounds of trilateral peace negotiations aimed at ending the violence. While some progress has been made on various issues, the parties have not yet resolved matters regarding territories, specifically the Donbas region.
A fourth round of talks was scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in early March, but it was canceled due to the situation in the Middle East.
Earlier, the United States, Ukraine, and Russia held a second round of constructive trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. These negotiations, organized by the UAE, resulted in a significant agreement to exchange 157 prisoners of war from each side.
Beyond the exchange, delegations discussed potential ceasefire mechanisms and monitoring systems to halt hostilities, marking a key step in the diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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