Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, that Moscow will not give up on its goal of eliminating the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine.
“Russia will not back down,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters although he added that Putin had also expressed a “readiness” to “seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict” during his one-hour phone conversation with Trump on Thursday.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for the Kremlin’s argument that it was compelled to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to prevent the country from joining NATO and being used by the Western alliance as a launchpad to attack Russia – arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies but supported in part by Trump.
Trump said after the call that he had made “no progress” with Putin on moving towards a ceasefire, adding that he was “not happy” about the war in Ukraine.
The phone call, their sixth since Trump started his second term in January, came the day after the Pentagon confirmed it was halting some weapons deliveries to Kyiv, including air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery. They were promised under President Joe Biden’s administration. The announcement was made as Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine
Trump and Putin did not broach the subject of the paused weapons deliveries, according to the Kremlin aide, who said the US president had raised the issue of bringing about a swift end to the war.
While the prospect of a face-to-face meeting was not discussed, the two leaders agreed to keep talking.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, have held a lengthy telephone conversation on Thursday, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has announced.
The two leaders discussed ongoing Ukraine peace talks, the volatile state of affairs in the Middle East, and Russia-US cooperation, he stated.
Below is the full text of Ushakov’s statement as published on the Kremlin website.
Dear colleagues,
Another almost hour-long telephone conversation between President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump has just concluded.
Donald Trump began the conversation by announcing that the US Congress passed his administration’s flagship bill envisaging reforms in taxation, immigration, and the energy sector. President Trump himself calls it the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’.
Vladimir Putin wished Donald Trump success in implementing the changes he envisioned and, naturally, offered greetings for Independence Day, the national day of the United States, which will be celebrated tomorrow.
At the same time, it was noted by our side that Russia had played a significant part in the establishment of the United States as a nation, including during the War of Independence, fought 250 years ago, and later during the Civil War, which ended 160 years ago. It was stated that our countries are bound not only by their alliance during World Wars One and Two, but also by deeper historical ties.
Incidentally, Vladimir Putin mentioned that just before speaking with Donald Trump, he had a conversation with representatives of Russia’s business community. One of the ideas suggested during that meeting was holding an exchange of motion pictures promoting traditional values, which both we and the Trump administration hold dear. President Trump reacted immediately and said he liked this idea.
There was a detailed discussion of the situation surrounding Iran, and the state of affairs in the Middle East in general. The Russian side emphasized it was crucial to settle any and all contentious issues, differences, and conflicts exclusively via political and diplomatic means. The two leaders agreed to maintain contact on the issue between the respective foreign services, defense ministries, and presidential aides.
The latest developments in Syria were addressed as well. Similarly, the Russian and US sides intend to continue the dialogue on the matter.
Naturally, the issues surrounding Ukraine were also discussed. Donald Trump has once again raised the issue of ending the hostilities as soon as possible. In turn, Vladimir Putin noted that we still continued the search for a political, negotiated solution to the conflict. He informed his counterpart on the progress in implementing the humanitarian agreements reached during the second round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks held in Istanbul. He also noted Russia was willing to pursue negotiations. Additionally, the President of Russia said that Russia would strive to achieve its goals, namely the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs, the bitter confrontation that we are seeing now. Russia will not back down from these goals.
While exchanging views on bilateral matters, the two sides confirmed their mutual interest in implementing a number of promising projects in economy, notably the energy sector and space exploration.
Overall, I would like to point out that the conversation between the two presidents has, as always, shown that they are on the same page. It was candid, business-minded, and concrete. The two presidents will naturally continue communicating and will have another conversation soon.
Thank you.
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