They announced it with two concise messages a few minutes before picking up the phone: at 4 pm Italian time the call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Ukraine began, following the announcement by the White House of the halt on the supply of some crucial weapons for the defense of Kiev from Russian attacks. “Today I will speak with the American president and I will certainly suggest that he use this material to promote it on the American market,” Putin said, quoted by Tass , while visiting an exhibition of Russian products. While the American tycoon limited himself to writing on his social media: “I will speak with Russian president Putin at 10 am. Thank you!”. This is the sixth conversation between the two since Trump returned to the presidency: the last one took place on June 14, the day after Israel launched an attack on Iran. On Tuesday, Putin had his first direct conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron in almost three years.
The phone call lasted almost an hour, but according to Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov, the two did not discuss the suspension of arms supplies. “This issue was not touched upon,” he replied to reporters’ questions. According to Ushakov, Putin said he wanted to continue seeking a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but added that Russia “ would not give up its goals ,” namely “ eliminating the root causes ” of the conflict. In particular, the Kremlin chief “insisted that any future peace agreement must include Ukraine’s abandonment of its intention to join NATO and recognition of Russia’s territorial gains.” There was “no specific discussion of the possibility of a meeting ” between the two presidents, “but this idea is still in the air and, if necessary, a specific agreement will be reached on this matter,” the adviser explained. Instead, the recent conflict between Iran and Israel was discussed: Putin, according to Moscow, reiterated the importance of resolving all disputes and tensions exclusively through political and diplomatic means, underlining the importance of dialogue to avoid further escalations.
The meeting between the leaders of Moscow and Washington comes 24 hours before the one between the head of the White House and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who will certainly ask Trump why he decided to cut off arms supplies to his country. A question that seems to have only one answer: after attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict failed, the tycoon is trying to speed up the process towards a negotiating table by penalizing one of the two parties. In this sense, a decisive Russian advance in the summer could convince Putin to open a channel of dialogue with Kiev, strong in his position on the ground, while the lack of fundamental coverage such as the American one would force Zelensky to give in to conditions that until now have been considered unacceptable.
“Of course, we are counting on the continuation of American support. There are some things that Europe does not have at the moment, especially when it comes to Patriot missiles, air defense systems. This is crucial,” the Ukrainian president said at a press conference in Aarhus, Denmark, for the start of the Danish presidency of the EU Council. And speaking about the Trump-Putin phone call, he said: “I don’t know if they can have many ideas in common, Putin and Trump are different people. We are ready for meetings in any format, but in Russia only Putin decides, that’s why a summit at the highest level is needed,” he added.
Trump's strategy is not shared in Europe, as clarified – again from Aarhus – by the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen : the halt to US weapons"is a clear signal to increase our efforts in supporting Ukraine, not only at EU level but at European level", she said."If the US has decided so, it will be a serious obstacle for the EU and NATO. We hope that the partnership with Kiev will continue", added the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, rotating President of the Union.
