President Donald Trump revealed his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, telling reporters he made no progress “at all” on ending the Ukraine war despite a lengthy phone call.
Trump spoke with Putin on certain foreign matters, including Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war.
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“We also talked about the war with Ukraine, and I’m not happy about that,” he said before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on a flight to Iowa. “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”
The call lasted more than an hour, the Kremlin said.
The conversation comes two days after the United States paused some of its weapons shipments to Ukraine amid concerns of low U.S. stockpiles of military equipment. The halted munitions delivery included air defense missiles, which Ukraine has asked the U.S. to send to the war-torn country so it can protect itself against Russian aerial warfare.
Trump expects to discuss the subject with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, the Financial Times reported. Zelensky is also likely to discuss possible future arms sales of missile defense systems.
Trump downplayed the pause on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, blaming the low stockpiles of weapons on the previous administration.
“We’re giving weapons … and we’re working with them and trying to help them,” Trump told reporters. “But we have, you know, Biden emptied out our whole country, giving them weapons. And we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves.”
Trump stressed to Putin during the call that the Ukraine war needs to end swiftly. According to the Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, Putin told his counterpart that Russia would not give up its aims in the conflict. Putin also doesn’t want U.S. involvement in the peace talks.
Trump’s latest phone call with Putin is reflective of their increasingly fraught relationship, as Russia and Ukraine can’t successfully reach a peace deal in negotiations mediated by the U.S.
TRUMP AND PUTIN TO SPEAK FOLLOWING US DECISION TO HALT SOME AID TO UKRAINE
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to end Russia’s war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. He has since backed away from that promise, claiming he made it jokingly.
“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point, and you know, it gets, of course, by the fake news [unintelligible],” the president told Time in April, per the magazine’s full interview transcript. “Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.”