Published : 10 Oct 2026, 08:46 PM
Updated : 10 Oct 2026, 08:46 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump had a “very substantive and friendly” conversation on Friday, with neither leader wanting to end the call first, Russian news agency Interfax quoted a Kremlin aide as saying on Saturday.
The call lasted an hour and a half, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
“Neither wanted to be the first to hang up,” he said. “They hung up simultaneously, literally at the same time.”
During the conversation, the presidents agreed that Russia would supply diesel to the US and global markets to help lower fuel prices, prompting an unexpected temporary easing of US sanctions on Russian fuel.
The move has dismayed Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the diesel deal after news of the call emerged on Friday, calling it a “weak decision” and “an investment in a war that must be ended”.
The Kremlin said most of the conversation focused on efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine. Putin also played down the likelihood of three-way peace talks resuming soon.
Kyiv is relying on US support in negotiations to end the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Western countries imposed sanctions, including restrictions on Russian energy imports, after the invasion.
Efforts to end the fighting have so far stalled, partly over Russia’s demand for four Ukrainian regions that it does not fully control.
On Friday, negotiators from the US, Ukraine and European countries held talks in Miami aimed at reaching agreement on a unified peace proposal in the coming weeks that could be presented to Russia, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
