Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have held last week their sixth phone call since the beginning of the year.
Putin’s advisor Yuri Ushakov was the first to announce the results of the dialogue – so far there has been no briefing from the White House, apart from Trump’s confirmation of the conversation.
The Kremlin’s emphasis has surprisingly been on film production – without it being clear what concrete progress has been made on topics such as the war in Ukraine.
According to Ushakov – Putin mentioned to Trump his idea of ”exchanging films between the two countries that promote traditional values close to Russia and the current US presidential administration”.
“Trump reacted immediately. He said he liked this idea”, claims Yuri Ushakov.
The war in Ukraine was discussed during the phone call, but there seems to be no progress.
“Trump again raised the issue of an early cessation of hostilities. Putin noted that we continue to seek a political negotiated solution to the conflict. The president also said that Russia will pursue its goals – that is, the elimination of all known root causes that led to the current state of affairs and the sharp confrontation. Russia will not give up on these goals,” Ushakov said.
The two presidents did not discuss a possible third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine, but they did talk about the results of the first two meetings in Istanbul.
The conversation lasted about an hour.
According to the Kremlin, the dialogue between them was “on the same wavelength,” with Ushakov describing it as “frank, businesslike, and specific.” However, a personal meeting between Trump and Putin was not discussed.
The Russian business publication RBC reports that the Moscow Stock Exchange index fell after the announcements of the conversation between Trump and Putin, despite the initial rise in anticipation of news from them. Illustration: Poster of The Heritage of Love (Russian: Герой, Geroy, “Hero”) – a Russian romantic drama film inspired by a true story. It is set against the Russian Revolution and subsequent onset of civil war, as well as contemporary Paris.
