Donald Trump Says He Made No Progress With Vladimir Putin on Ukraine in Call

President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and claimed he “didn’t make any progress” on a possible truce in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

When questioned by reporters about his earlier-in-the-day chat with Putin, Trump responded, “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”

“There was a call. The call went on for a while. In addition to discussing Iran, we also discussed the battle with Ukraine, as you are aware. Trump stated, “I’m not thrilled about that at all”.

“Frank and substantive” discussion, according to Putin advisor Yuri Ushakov

In a briefing published by Russian official news, Yuri Ushakov, the senior foreign policy advisor in the Kremlin, told reporters that Russia emphasized the importance of using only diplomatic methods to settle controversial issues pertaining to Iran and its nuclear program. In support of Israel’s June 13 bombing campaign, Mr. Trump ordered the June 21 bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. 

The Trump administration’s decision this week to suspend several U.S. military deliveries, notably air defense interceptors, which are essential to repelling the Russian invasion that started in 2022, has left Ukraine in shock. Russian state media reported that the Kremlin said the suspension was not discussed during the discussion.

While defending his decision to withhold the guns, Mr. Trump did not answer whether he had brought up the matter during the Thursday call. “We have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves because President Joseph R. Biden Jr. emptied out our entire country giving them weapons,” he said.

According to a Trump post on Truth Social, the last time Putin and Trump spoke publicly, they discussed the Israel-Iran issue last month. In May, they also discussed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives were place in Istanbul in May, but little progress was made.

According to Mr. Ushakov, Mr. Putin spoke with Russian business executives before to his meeting with Mr. Trump, and they expressed a wish to collaborate with the US on film production in order to further “traditional values close to us and the Trump administration.” The Kremlin aide claimed that the U.S. president expressed his approval of the proposal.

“As usual, the presidents’ conversation was clear, straightforward, businesslike, and focused,” Mr. Ushakov stated. “Of course, the presidents will keep in touch in the near future.”

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