Kremlin: Trump hasn't called Putin since NATO summit, despite earlier promise

"Mr. Trump, it seems, was very busy after all the meetings in Ankara, so no one called yesterday," Putin's press secretary said, adding that Putin is "always happy to talk."

Peskov claimed Putin remains "open to dialogue" with Trump. The Kremlin also said the idea that military pressure on Russia would help resolve the war in Ukraine "is mistaken."

On July 8, Trump said he planned to hold a phone call with Putin. He made the comment during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.

Trump invited reporters to suggest a question he could pass along to Putin. In response, one journalist asked when the war would end.

"I don't think I've ever asked him that," Trump joked. The U.S. president also said he was applying significant pressure on the Kremlin leader. "We're putting pressure—a lot of pressure—on President Putin. I don't think he likes what's happening," Trump said.

Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump on July 8

At the joint press conference, Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the United States had begun work on a drone deal, and Trump confirmed that Washington was prepared to purchase Ukrainian-made drones.

Trump also said that meaningful progress had been made in recent weeks toward ending the war in Ukraine, and that his relationship with Zelenskyy had become "very good" following their heated Oval Office exchange last year. At the same time, Trump said ending the war remains a difficult task, describing both Zelenskyy and Putin as "difficult characters."