Putin and Trump Talked for Nearly an Hour: Putin Stated Russia Will Achieve Its Set Goals

AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone conversation with United States President Donald Trump that Moscow is trying to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, but that it will not abandon its original goals, said a senior Kremlin official.

In the conversation, which also covered Iran and the Middle East and lasted nearly an hour, Trump “again raised the issue of a swift end to military operations” in Ukraine, Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

“Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that we continue to seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict,” Ushakov said.

Putin informed Trump about the implementation of the agreements reached between Russia and Ukraine last month regarding the exchange of prisoners of war and fallen soldiers, adding that Moscow is ready to continue negotiations with Kyiv.

“Our president also said that Russia will achieve the goals it has set: namely, addressing the well-known root causes of the current situation and the ongoing acute conflict, and Russia will not abandon these goals,” he added.

There was no indication from the Kremlin’s statement that Putin had shown any shift in Moscow’s stance on Ukraine during the call with Trump. Trump assumed the presidency with a campaign focused on ending the war quickly and has since frequently expressed frustration over the lack of progress between the two sides.

The phrase “root causes” refers to the Kremlin’s argument that it was forced to enter the war in Ukraine to prevent the country from joining NATO and to stop the Western alliance from using it as a springboard for attacking Russia.

Ukraine and its European allies say this is a false pretext for an “imperialist-style war,” as they call it, while Trump has previously shown understanding for Moscow’s refusal to accept Ukraine’s NATO membership.

Putin and Trump did not discuss the U.S. decision to halt some critically important weapons shipments to Ukraine, Ushakov said.

Ushakov also stated that, although Russia is open to continuing talks with the U.S., any peace negotiations must take place between Moscow and Kyiv. This comment comes amid signs that Moscow is seeking to avoid a trilateral format for any peace talks. Russian officials reportedly asked American diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, according to Ukrainian officials.

Trump and Putin did not discuss a face-to-face meeting, Ushakov added, as reported by The Guardian.

Regarding Iran, he said, “the Russian side emphasized the importance of resolving all disputes, disagreements, and conflict situations exclusively through political and diplomatic means.”

In June, Trump sent American military bombers to strike three Iranian nuclear facilities, which Moscow condemned as an unprovoked and illegal action.