Intelligence officials in the US and Europe continue to doubt that Vladimir Putin is seriously interested in ending his ongoing conflict. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a "great" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week and that the Russian leader wanted to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine. "He is wanting to make a deal, and if (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy is wanting to make a deal, that'd be very nice," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Dallas for the Republican National Convention. Trump spoke over the phone with Putin on Tuesday, shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, returned from a diplomatic swing through Moscow and Kyiv. The duo, who are in charge of most major peace negotiations for the US, discussed potential proposals to bring the war to a close. Last month, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met with intelligence officials in Moscow, in part to encourage Russian officials to end their invasion. Despite those efforts and Trump's statements, intelligence officials in the US, Ukraine and throughout Europe continue to doubt Putin is seriously interested in ending his ongoing war, now in its fourth year. "The holdup is two people who hate each other," Trump told reporters, referring to Putin and Zelenskyy. "I think more than anything else, it's two people that hate each other." Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Wednesday he was not optimistic about the prospect of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, adding that Moscow continues to reject ceasefire proposals and has not softened its objectives. According to TVP World political editor Stuart Dowell, Putin is not abandoning his key demands but is willing to play along with a relaunched peace drive by the US because Trump needs a diplomatic win, especially with a clear breakthrough in the Iran conflict looking harder to achieve. This story includes reporting by Reuters.
