The call, which lasted nearly an hour, yielded no progress. “I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” the US President said.

Ukraine war via diplomacy have largely stalled. Trump faces growing calls, including from some Republicans, to increase pressure on Putin to negotiate in earnest.

Trump said after Thursday's conversation that he did not think Putin was looking to stop the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin told Trump that Russia expects to agree a date for a third round of peace talks with Ukraine,