Trump and Putin discuss Iran, Ukraine and possible joint projects, the Kremlin says

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. Trump held a nearly one-hour phone call with Putin on Thursday, in which the two leaders discussed resolving issues related to Iran and Ukraine, as well as other matters, the Kremlin said. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

By PAUL SONNE and TYLER PAGER

President Donald Trump held a nearly one-hour phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday, in which the two leaders discussed resolving issues related to Iran and Ukraine, as well as other matters, the Kremlin said.

The conversation was the sixth known call between the two leaders since Trump returned to office in January. They have discussed normalizing ties between Washington and Moscow but have made little progress toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Russia underscored the need to resolve contentious issues regarding Iran and its nuclear program exclusively through diplomatic means, the Kremlin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters, according to a briefing released by Russian state news. Trump ordered the June 21 bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites in support of the Israeli bombing campaign that began June 13.

The U.S. and Russian leaders agreed to continue contacts between their foreign ministries, defense ministries and presidential aides on the matter, Ushakov said.

The two leaders also discussed Ukraine, which is reeling from a Trump administration decision this week to pause some deliveries of U.S. weapons, including air defense interceptors, that are vital to fending off the Russian invasion that began in 2022. The Kremlin said the suspension was not discussed during the call, according to Russian state media.

“Donald Trump again raised the question of the quick end to the military action,” Ushakov said. “Vladimir Putin, for his part, answered that we are continuing to try to search for a politically negotiated solution to the conflict.”

At the same time, the Russian leader appeared to reiterate his unyielding position on negotiations over Ukraine, which has led many Western officials to question whether he is serious about peace talks. According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump that Russia would continue to press ahead to achieve its war aims and resolve the “root causes” of the conflict.

That phrase is often read as Kremlin shorthand for Moscow’s demands that Ukraine cede territory, embrace neutrality, be excluded from joining NATO or other military alliances and be subjected to limits on its military.

“Russia will not retreat from those goals,” Ushakov said, without describing them.

Trump announced on social media that he would be speaking with Putin before the call, but neither he nor the White House has commented since it concluded.

Putin informed Trump of the progress on humanitarian matters that Russia and Ukraine had made after the last round of talks in Istanbul, Ushakov said. That included exchanges of prisoners and the bodies of killed soldiers. The Russian leader added that Moscow stood ready to continue the talks, though a date for the next round has not been set, Ushakov said.

During the call, Putin and Trump confirmed their mutual interest in realizing a number of economic projects between Russia and the United States, including in the energy sector and space exploration, Ushakov said.

Before his discussion with Trump, Putin talked with Russian business executives, who articulated a desire to cooperate with the United States on film production to promote “traditional values close to us and the Trump administration,” Ushakov said. The U.S. president said he liked the idea, the Kremlin aide added.

“The conversation between the presidents, as always, was on the same wavelength, was frank, businesslike and specific,” Ushakov said. “The presidents, naturally, will continue their communication in the near future.”