Trump says he expects to speak with Putin ‘in near future’, calls Ukraine war ‘more difficult’ to resolve

Trump says he expects to speak with Putin ‘in near future’, calls Ukraine war ‘more difficult’ to resolve
Donald Trump announced plans for talks with Vladimir Putin while speaking at a White House event (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)



 

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday, September 4, that he expects to hold another conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the near future,” as he continues to push for a breakthrough in ending the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a White House event with technology executives, Trump noted that more than 7,000 lives were lost in just the past week, underscoring the urgency of a resolution.

Trump says he is having a 'very good dialogue' with Zelensky

Asked about his next steps following a separate discussion earlier in the day with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump replied, “I will be, yeah. We’re having a very good dialogue.”

“We’ll get it done,” the president declared. “This one turned out to be more difficult, but we’re going to get it done.”

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - AUGUST 15: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Alternate Crop) U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. The two leaders are meeting for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Donald Trump greeted Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump has repeatedly asserted since taking office that he could resolve the war quickly, but attempts at progress have stalled.

Trump waits on Putin–Zelensky breakthrough

In a separate interview with CBS News on Wednesday, Donald Trump confirmed he has been in communication with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, though he cautioned that the parties are “not ready yet” to sit down for negotiations.

“I’ve been watching it, I’ve been seeing it, and I’ve been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump said. “Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen.”

 U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is hosting President Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House for a bilateral meeting and later an expanded meeting with European leaders to discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Donald Trump met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy during discussions at the White House on August 18, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The White House has been exploring the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky, but uncertainty remains over whether a face-to-face encounter between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders can be arranged as a preliminary step.

Trump hosts tech executives at White House

The comments came during a formal dinner with prominent technology executives at the White House. Trump sat at the center of the long dining table, flanked by first lady Melania Trump on one side and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the other.

The dinner, which had initially been scheduled to take place in the newly renovated Rose Garden, was moved indoors to the State Dining Room due to rainy weather.

(L-R) White House “AI and Crypto Czar” David Scahs, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump share a moment during a dinner at the State Dining Room of the White House on September 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted tech and business leaders for dinner after they joined the first lady’s meeting of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education Task Force at the White House this afternoon. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
David Sacks, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump, and Melania Trump shared a moment during a White House dinner with technology executives on September 4, 2025 (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

During the gathering, Trump invited executives to speak about their companies and share their investment commitments in the US. Zuckerberg said his company alone expected to spend around $600 billion through 2028.

Earlier in the day, Melania had led a meeting for the White House’s newly formed Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force, a group tasked with examining how emerging technologies can be integrated into schools and workforce training.

Share this article:  Trump says he expects to speak with Putin ‘in near future’, calls Ukraine war ‘more difficult’ to resolve