Measure of necessity: what Putin and Trump managed to agree on during an hour-long conversation

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump positively assessed the results of the mission of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow and Kiev. The presidents' telephone conversation on September 8 was held "in an extremely frank" manner, said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. During the conversation, Vladimir Putin outlined what, in the opinion of the Russian side, the United States could do to end the conflict as soon as possible. In addition, the heads of Russia and the United States agreed to continue working to resolve humanitarian issues, including the exchange of detainees and convicts. A new trilateral meeting of the Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine is needed for progress in the settlement, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. At the same time, many do not exclude that European countries are already trying to influence Kiev's position.

What did Putin and Trump agree on after the visit of Witkoff and Kushner

Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Donald Trump on September 8, shortly after the completion of the intensive mission of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow and Kiev. The conversation between the two presidents lasted an hour and was mainly devoted to the Ukrainian settlement. It was held "in an extremely frank, constructive and mutually respectful manner," said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov. According to him, Donald Trump has clearly stated his desire for an early end to the Ukrainian conflict. There are not many details of the next conversation between the leaders in the public field, but, apparently, the conversation took place in a very meaningful way.

— You understand that it was confidential, so I'm unlikely to be able to share many important details and nuances with you. The results of the stay of the mentioned American representatives were evaluated with a "plus" sign. And work on this channel, as well as on some others, will continue," said Yuri Ushakov.

In turn, Vladimir Putin supported the spirit of building a constructive partnership, gave a thorough analysis of what is happening in the free zone, and also separately noted Melania Trump's personal humanitarian efforts to return Russian and Ukrainian children to their families. The leaders agreed to continue working on the exchange of detainees and convicts, and also agreed to promptly call each other as needed.

— By the way, it was also indicated what the Americans could really do to end the hostilities as soon as possible. Given the speculation about Russia's hostile intentions against European states, it was emphasized that we have no aggressive plans in mind towards Europe," the presidential aide stressed.

The suspended Ukrainian settlement recently received a new impetus over the weekend. On September 5, Vladimir Putin received White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin. After a seven-month pause (the previous visit was in January), the emissaries brought to Moscow a formulated package of considerations for overcoming the crisis. For his part, Vladimir Putin provided clear assessments of the situation in the area of the special military operation and highlighted the successes of the Russian army.

The Head of State stressed that the complete elimination of the root causes of the conflict remains a key condition for sustainable peace. The meeting lasted more than three hours— both at the desk and in an informal setting over lunch. This suggests that the Americans had something to come to Moscow with. Probably, joint economic projects could also be discussed — this topic constantly comes up during contacts between representatives of both countries.

In particular, in a conversation with the Russian president, Trump, according to Ushakov, noted the large-scale prospects for the restoration of Russian-American relations, which could bring enormous economic benefits to both countries.

The next day, on September 6, the U.S. representatives went to Kiev. It is worth noting that in the Ukrainian capital, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks not only with Vladimir Zelensky, but also national security advisers from Great Britain, France and Germany joined the consultations. The Europeans are still not making contact with Moscow in the context of the settlement, trying to get involved in it without any specific proposals and peace plans.

Will there be a trilateral meeting of Russia, the United States and Ukraine

The United States is obviously in a hurry to present at least some kind of outcome of its peacekeeping campaign to American voters - the midterm elections are less than two months away. The polls are inexorable: Republicans are likely to lose their majority in the House of Representatives, and possibly even in the entire Congress.

Trump promised to take up the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis immediately after the inauguration. His administration certainly launched the negotiation process, but after a year and a half, there was no agreement, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks on infrastructure and Zelensky's threats to civil aviation demonstrate how far Kiev is still from a constructive dialogue.

The war with Iran has finally "finished off" the ratings of the current US president after a series of high-profile political decisions, including attempts to impose tariffs even on partners, and an operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro. If it is possible to reach a peace agreement on the Ukrainian track, he could succeed in the eyes of the public on the eve of the elections and restore some of the political support lost due to the situation in the Middle East, American political analyst Jeremy Kuzmarov told Izvestia.

In addition, some kind of peace agreement or at least progress in the settlement will help to stabilize the global oil market a little and lower prices inside the United States — and this is an important indicator for the American electorate. According to The New York Times, a gallon (3,785 liters) of diesel costs a record $5.85, an increase of more than 55% since the beginning of the conflict with Iran.

However, the Europeans can always intervene in the settlement process. The UK has already once convinced Kiev to abandon, in fact, the initialed Istanbul agreements in 2022.

And now the European "partners" continue to do everything possible to keep Ukraine in the conflict, inflating the topic of mythical Russian "sabotage" and "attacks" — and the British and Germans are talking about it the loudest, Peter Kuznik, director of the Institute for Nuclear Research at the American University, said in an interview with Izvestia..

Both Ukrainians and Europeans are obviously waiting for the congressional elections, believing that if the Democrats win, Trump's position will be shaken, American political scientist Malek Dudakov believes. Therefore, now they will try not to succumb to pressure from the US presidential administration. At the same time, according to him, there is an extremely negative background for supporters of the continuation of the conflict: Kiev is still shaken by corruption scandals, the situation at the front is not in its favor, and a difficult winter is ahead, which will clearly affect the country's energy system. The rapid deterioration of Ukraine's negotiating position may also be the reason for the rush on the part of the Americans.

However, the conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin still gives rise to certain hopes for a breakthrough, notes Jeremy Kuzmarov. Even the Western media is beginning to admit that Ukraine is losing on the battlefield. But it is the trilateral format that is needed to advance the peace process, the expert emphasizes.

A return to it is quite possible, Peter Kuznik believes. In his opinion, before that, the Russian side will need agreements similar to those discussed in Anchorage, and Zelensky is not yet ready to make concessions, including the withdrawal of troops from Donbass.

Following the talks in Moscow and Kiev, Jared Kushner said that Washington expects to return the negotiations to a trilateral format. The Russian side later confirmed that it also hopes to resume such contacts.