Vladimir Putin has claimed in a phone call with Donald Trump that Russia played a role in the formation of the United States.

Speaking a day before America celebrates Independence Day, the Russian leader reportedly congratulated Mr Trump about its national holiday, held on July 4.

According to a report by Tass, a state-owned news agency, Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide, said during the call “it was noted from our side that Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood including during the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which ended 160 years ago”.

He added: “It was stated that our countries are linked not only by the alliance in the First and Second World Wars, but also by deeper historical roots.”

It was not immediately clear how Mr Trump responded or what Mr Putin was referring to, although some historians such as Paul Behringer have written about a “distant friendship” between the two countries.

“During the 19th Century, as the US began to spread across the North American continent and Russia established colonies in Alaska, America remained officially neutral during the Crimean War.

“However, there was widespread public support for Russia. 

“Russia also supported the Union during the US Civil War and in 1867 Russia agreed to sell Alaska to the US for $7.2 million.”

Putin will not ‘back down’

The call had been arranged for the leaders to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded.

Mr Ushakov added that during the call Putin said he would not “back down” from its goals.

He added: “Our president also said that Russia will achieve the goals it has set: that is, the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs.”

Putin has previously claimed he invaded Ukraine because it was set to join Nato, even though that was not a certainty.

During the 2024 election campaign Mr Trump often said he could secure a ceasefire in just a day after returning to the White House.

Yet Putin has appeared unwilling to either end its military operations or hold meaningful negotiations about a peace plan.

This week it was reported the US was freezing the dispatch of some military equipment to Ukraine. The decision was taken after the US assessed its own stockpiles of some weapons were running low.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader, said he hoped to speak with Mr Trump on Friday.

The White House did not immediately comment about Mr Trump’s call with his Russian counterpart.