Putin and Trump hold phone talks – Kremlin | 8 Sep 2026 | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, have held a “positive” phone call focused on efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said on Tuesday. The call followed a new round of shuttle diplomacy by Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who met Putin in Moscow for more than three hours on Saturday before traveling to Kiev for talks with Vladimir Zelensky the following day. Speaking to reporters, Ushakov said Putin and Trump had both assessed the envoys’ visits positively and agreed that work through this and other diplomatic channels would “continue.” Ushakov described the hour-long conversation as positive, saying Putin praised U.S. mediation efforts and Trump personally.