In 6th call this year, Putin tells Trump he won't back down from goals in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump during a phone call on Thursday that Moscow wants peace in Ukraine, but it will not step back from its original goals.

This was their sixth phone call this year and the fourth in just the past six weeks, according to Russian state media agency TASS. The two leaders have frequently spoken since Trump returned to the White House, focusing on the Ukraine conflict and ways to rebuild bilateral ties between their countries.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said this was part of a conversation where the two leaders discussed not only the war but also Iran, the Middle East, and US-Russia relations.

During the latest conversation, Trump once again asked Putin to work toward ending the conflict in Ukraine. "Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that we continue to seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict," Ushakov told reporters.

PUTIN STRESSES RUSSIA WILL STICK TO ITS OBJECTIVES

While Putin welcomed negotiations, he also made it clear that Russia will not back down from its goals in the conflict.

"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, to the current acute confrontation, and Russia will not back down from these goals," Ushakov said.

By "root causes," the Kremlin refers to its belief that the war started to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and becoming a threat near Russian borders. Ukraine and Western countries disagree with this reasoning. They claim it is merely a excuse for an invasion motivated by imperial aspirations.

Putin also informed Trump about agreements between Russia and Ukraine regarding prisoner exchanges and return of fallen soldiers. He said Russia is open to continue talks with Ukraine.

However, there was no indication in the Kremlin’s statement that Putin had changed his position during this conversation, despite Trump’s efforts to push for peace. Trump came into office promising to end the war quickly, but he has expressed frustration with the slow pace of progress.

Despite Trump's attempts to promote peace, the Kremlin statement made no mention of Putin having altered his stance during this discussion. Trump came into office promising to end the war quickly, but he was frustrated with the war's sluggish progress.

TRUMP AND PUTIN SHARE VIEWS, BUT AVOID KEY TOPICS

According to Ushakov, the two leaders were "on the same page" during the call. Putin even congratulated Trump ahead of US Independence Day, which will be celebrated on July 4. Trump began the conversation by giving an update on his new economic bill, and the two reportedly discussed joint projects, including economic ties and a new film exchange program focused on traditional values.

Meanwhile, some important topics were avoided. They did not talk about the US decision to pause some shipments of weapons to Ukraine -- a move that Ukraine's allies have been closely watching. There was also no discussion about a possible face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, although the idea remains "up in the air."

Iran was another major topic during the call. "The Russian side emphasised the importance of resolving all disputes, disagreements and conflict situations exclusively by political and diplomatic means," Ushakov said. This comes after the US carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites — a move which was condemned by Moscow.

The Trump-Putin phone call comes after several earlier conversations this year -- including one on June 14 -- when Putin and Trump discussed Israel-Iran conflict, and another on May 19, shortly after direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.

In a March call, Putin supported Trump's idea of a 30-day pause on attacks targeting energy infrastructure — a plan Ukraine declined to join. Despite all the talks, there has been little sign of any major breakthrough.

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With input from Agencies