Putin and Zelensky Discuss Ukraine, Iran Wars with Trump in Separate Calls

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he will discuss the Russian invasion and peace efforts with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the G7 summit in France. The phone call took place on Trump's 80th birthday. Zelensky posted on social media that they discussed “things that could help bring about peace now” and that he informed Trump about the latest battlefield developments. “We agreed that we will discuss more during our meeting at the G7 Summit,” he added.

Shortly after, the Kremlin confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin also called Trump. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the conversation as “friendly and frank,” focusing on a memorandum of understanding being drafted between the U.S. and Iran. Ushakov said Trump indicated an agreement is close and hoped to announce results of the difficult but successful negotiations on Sunday. The leaders agreed that U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will soon return to Russia.

Trump will take part in a G7 working session with Zelensky on Tuesday. U.S.-led talks to end the conflict in Ukraine have been sidelined by the Iran war, and Russian advances are losing steam. Trump has pushed both sides to end the war after initially boasting he could do so within a day, and has repeatedly urged Ukraine to compromise with Russia.

Ushakov noted that Putin told Trump that Ukrainian strikes on Russian civilian infrastructure will not change the critical situation for Ukraine on the battlefield. Ukraine has stepped up aerial attacks targeting Russian oil infrastructure. The Russia-Ukraine war has become Europe's worst conflict since World War II, with thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops killed.