U.S. President Donald Trump said “significant progress” was made during Monday’s meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Whitkoff. Writing on Truth Social, Trump described the talks as “productive.”
“Great progress was made! Afterward, I briefed some of our European allies. Everyone agrees this war must end, and we will be working on it in the coming days and weeks,” Trump wrote.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Whitkoff had shared the outcome of the Kremlin talks and indicated that a White House statement would follow, though its tone “could be positive, or it could be the opposite.”
Shortly afterward, Reuters and Ukraine’s Suspilne reported that Trump had held a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The conversation lasted about an hour, ending shortly before Trump issued his statement. The White House did not confirm whether Trump or other administration officials had also spoken with European leaders.
Zelensky, in a Telegram post, said the call included participation from unnamed European leaders. “We discussed what was said in Moscow,” he noted.
The Putin–Whitkoff meeting took place on August 6 at the Kremlin and lasted roughly three hours. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov described the talks as “useful and constructive,” adding that “some signals were conveyed by the Russian side on the Ukrainian issue, and corresponding signals were received from President Trump.”
Ushakov suggested the Kremlin might issue a fuller statement after Whitkoff briefs Trump on the meeting in detail.
