RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has told United States President Donald Trump that Russia will press on with its objectives in the conflict with Ukraine, including addressing what Moscow calls the root causes of the war.
In a telephone call on Thursday, Putin reportedly told Trump that “Russia will achieve its goals, namely to eliminate the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs and harsh confrontation. And Russia will not give up on these goals,” according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, as quoted by Xinhua.
Ushakov added that Russia remained open to a third round of talks with Ukraine, although the two leaders did not go into detail about potential negotiation points. He also noted that Putin and Trump discussed developments in Iran, the wider Middle East, and Syria.
On regional tensions, Putin "stressed the importance of resolving all disputes, disagreements and conflict situations exclusively with political and diplomatic means." Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue through their respective foreign ministries, defence departments, and presidential aides, Ushakov added.
The Kremlin aide also said that the two presidents reaffirmed interest in a number of joint economic initiatives, particularly in energy and space. “Within the framework of exchange of opinions on bilateral issues, both sides have confirmed their mutual interest in the realisation of a series of promising economic projects, particularly in the spheres of energy and space research.”
Despite the discussions, President Trump said he made no headway with Putin on Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Washington before departing for Iowa, Trump said, “We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine.”
“I’m not happy about that,” he continued. “No, I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
Ushakov noted that both leaders had agreed to continue their communications. - July 4, 2025
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