Trump says he spoke with Putin and then Zelenskyy "yesterday"

US President Donald Trump has said he had a conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on 6 July and later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, although neither side has confirmed the calls so far.

Source: European Pravda, citing Trump during the public part of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Details: During a Q&A session with journalists, Trump was asked about the prospects for ending the Russia-Ukraine war and about his anticipated meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit.

Quote: "I had a very good talk with President Putin who, by the way, has a lot of respect for President Erdoğan – a lot of respect for him. We had a long talk yesterday, it lasted a long time. And I also spoke with President Zelenskyy right after that. I think they both want to make a deal. It's too bad that it took so long, but I think there's going to be… something's going to come out of it – and the president [Trump presumably meant Erdoğan] is also helping us with this." [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Trump once again claimed to have ended eight wars and said he believes there is a chance of success, even if it does not appear likely.

Quote: "I would say it's a combination. A lot of times, I do well with Putin, and Zelenskyy would be a problem, or vice versa – Zelenskyy would be great and Putin would be... They both want to get it settled down. That's all I do in my life is deals, I know deals. And I think we're going to get it settled, hopefully soon."

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv has so far confirmed that either leader spoke with Trump on 6 July.

Update: Verification by European Pravda in Kyiv and Washington suggests that the claim was false: the conversation with Zelenskyy on 6 July, as reported by Trump, did not take place.

There has also been no confirmation of a new conversation with Putin in Russian media or in statements by Russian officials.

Background: The last time Donald Trump spoke with Putin was on 4 July, ahead of US Independence Day, and afterwards made similar statements, including that Putin wants to end the war.

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