French media: The conversation between Trump and Putin ended without results, Russia does not give up its goals in Ukraine

Just as the United States suspended the delivery of some weapons, including the urgently needed Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, due to insufficient stockpiles, US President Trump had a phone call with Russian President Putin on Thursday. Putin said that Russia "will not give up its goals in Ukraine," which means Russia will not stop its war in Ukraine.

Later, Trump admitted to the media at the White House that the call with Putin "did not make any progress" on a ceasefire in Ukraine. He also added that he was "not satisfied" with the ongoing war between the two countries.

This was the sixth call between Trump and Putin since Trump returned to the White House. The call lasted about an hour, and Kremlin foreign affairs advisor Ushakov described it as "frank": the two discussed the "Ukrainian conflict" and the situation in the Middle East.

Russia is currently intensifying its offensive against Ukraine, with daily bombings. Ukraine urgently needs the delivery of Patriot air defense missiles and other weapons from the United States, but the US suddenly suspended the delivery of such weapons to Kyiv, catching Kyiv off guard. Kyiv has asked the US for clarification, while the US downplayed the issue.

During the call between Putin and Trump, Putin stated that Russia "continues to seek a political solution and resolve the conflict through negotiations." Under Trump's mediation, Ukraine and Russia held two rounds of face-to-face talks in Istanbul, but apart from the exchange of some prisoners, there were almost no obvious results.

Kremlin foreign affairs advisor Ushakov said: Putin also emphasized to Trump that Russia would continue to achieve its goals in Ukraine, namely, to eliminate the deep-rooted causes of the current situation. He added, "Russia will not give up its goals." Putin has repeatedly stated that the reason for Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine is to remove Nazification in Ukraine, which is the excuse Putin uses to justify the war.

From the conversation between Putin and Trump, it is clear that Putin's focus remains on not giving up the war against Ukraine. What are Moscow's goals? Moscow requires Ukraine to give up Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, as well as four occupied regions, and demands that Ukraine permanently abandon its bid to join NATO. Kyiv refuses to accept these conditions.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has surprisingly eased relations with Moscow and resumed contact with Putin, sometimes even blaming Ukraine for the current situation. However, Trump recently expressed disappointment over the lack of progress in seeking a resolution to the conflict.

Kyiv and its Western allies have called for a ceasefire in Ukraine for months, but Moscow has refused, believing that a pause in hostilities would allow Ukrainians to use Western supplies to re-arm themselves.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy hopes to speak with Trump "tomorrow or in the coming days." A senior Ukrainian official who requested anonymity told AFP reporters, "A telephone meeting is being prepared, and we hope it can be held on Friday, but everything depends on the schedules of the two presidents."

Source: rfi

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836667359244288/

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