US President Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart via telephone on Thursday — their sixth conversation this year. The two leaders had previously interacted on on June 4, a day after Israel attacked Iran. The call also came days after the Pentagon halted some promised munitions for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. Trump is expected to hold a telephonic interaction with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
Trump had heralded the conversation with Putin via social media and later revealed that ‘no progress’ had been made during the call. The POTUS later told reporters at the Joint Base Andrews that he had discussed both Iran and Ukraine with Putin. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said the Russian President had reiterated his resolve to solve the “root causes” of the conflict. According to a a readout provided by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, the two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv during the nearly hour-long call.
The topic is, however, expected to take center stage later this week as Trump holds a call with Zelensky. As per a Financial Times report, the US President is expected to discuss the abrupt halt in some key weapons, while Kyiv is likely to raise the topic of potential future arms sales during the call.
The US has paused some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine due to low stockpiles earlier this week. The decision prompted Ukraine to call in the acting US envoy on Wednesday to underline the importance of continued military aid from Washington. It also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances. The Pentagon’s move has also led to a cut in the delivery of Patriot air defence missiles that Ukraine needs to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles.
Trump weighed in on the pause for the first time Thursday, justifying the move as necessary. He said former President Joe Biden “emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
“We’ve given so many weapons,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa.
He added that “we are working with them and trying to help them.”
Meanwhile, White House and the Pentagon officials said the move is consistent with Trump’s campaign pledge to limit US involvement in foreign wars.
“The president was elected on an America first platform to put America first,” Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.