Trump says he had "great conversation" with Putin, but Putin and Zelenskyy "hate each other"

September 9, 2026 / 4:02 PM EDT / CBS News

Trump says he had "great conversation" with Putin, but Putin and Zelenskyy "hate each other"

TL;DR

  • President Trump stated he had a "great conversation" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  • Trump believes Putin wants to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
  • Trump identified mutual hatred between Putin and Zelenskyy as the main reason for the ongoing conflict.
  • Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow and Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
  • The White House did not release a summary of the call, leaving the Russian readout as the only official account.
  • According to the Russian readout, Trump told Putin that ending the conflict would restore Russia-U.S. relations.