Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a one-hour phone call on September 8, with the Ukraine settlement emerging as one of the central topics. The two leaders also reviewed the recent trips by US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kiev and discussed prospects for restoring Russia-US relations.

According to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, the September 5–6 visits by Witkoff and Kushner were viewed positively by both sides. Moscow and Washington agreed to keep this channel of communication active alongside other contacts.

A substantial part of the conversation focused on possible ways to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end. Ushakov said Trump was pressing for a rapid cessation of hostilities, seeing it as a step that could open the way to a broad restoration of ties between Moscow and Washington.

The US president also highlighted the economic potential of renewed cooperation. In his view, normalized relations could deliver major benefits to both Russia and the United States. Trump is also interested in achieving a significant breakthrough while he remains in office.

Putin, for his part, backed the idea of building constructive cooperation between the two countries and gave a positive assessment of Washington’s mediation efforts, including Trump’s personal involvement in the search for a settlement.

The Russian leader also presented his assessment of the current situation in the special military operation zone, the likely course of developments on the battlefield and the implementation of the objectives set for the operation. The discussion also covered specific steps that, in Moscow’s view, the United States could take to help bring the fighting to an end more quickly.

Putin separately addressed claims that Russia intends to attack European countries. He stressed that Moscow has no such plans and argued that warnings about a Russian threat are being used by European states to justify higher military spending and continued support for Ukraine.

Humanitarian issues were also raised. The presidents agreed to continue work on exchanges involving detained and convicted individuals. Putin also noted the role of US First Lady Melania Trump in efforts to return Russian and Ukrainian children to their families.

Moscow described the call as constructive and candid. Putin and Trump agreed to remain in direct contact and to hold further phone conversations whenever necessary.

Their previous conversation took place on July 4, 66 days before the latest call. Putin then congratulated Trump and the American people on Independence Day. The two presidents also discussed the situation in the special military operation zone and possible cooperation between Moscow and Washington after the end of the Ukraine conflict.

Putin and Trump also spoke by phone on March 9, April 29 and June 14, 2026. The shortest of those calls lasted 55 minutes, while the longest ran for about an hour and a half.

Since Trump took office as US president, he and Putin have held 15 phone conversations. Ten of them took place in 2025: February 12, March 18, May 19, June 4, June 14, July 3, August 19, October 16, December 28 and December 29. The longest was their autumn conversation, which lasted two and a half hours.