"Two People Hate Each Other": Trump Blames Putin, Zelensky Over Peace Delay

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal to end Moscow's war against Ukraine.

09 Sep 2026, 19:09 · NDTV

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a "great" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

"He is wanting to make a deal, and if (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Dallas for the Republican National Convention.

Trump spoke over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned from a diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv. The duo, who are in charge of most major peace negotiations for the US, discussed potential proposals to bring the war to a close.

Last month, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met with intelligence officials in Moscow, in part to encourage Russian officials to end their invasion.

Despite those efforts and Trump's statements, intelligence officials in the US, Ukraine and throughout Europe continue to doubt Putin is seriously interested in ending his ongoing war, now in its fourth year.

"The holdup is two people who hate each other," Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelenskiy.

"I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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