WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump complained Thursday that america supplied too many weapons to Ukraine below the earlier administration, his first public feedback on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its popup offensive.
Talking to reporters earlier than boarding Air Pressure One for a flight to Iowa, Trump mentioned former President Joe Biden “emptied out our entire nation giving them weapons, and now we have to ensure that now we have sufficient for ourselves.”
Air protection missiles, precision-guided artillery and different weapons are amongst these being withheld from Ukraine.
WATCH: U.S. withholds weapons promised to Ukraine as Russian forces gain more territory
Trump, who additionally spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, instructed he wasn’t utterly slicing off American help to Ukraine.
“We’ve given so many weapons,” he mentioned, including that “we’re working with them and attempting to assist them.”
Trump mentioned he had a “fairly lengthy name” with Putin that “didn’t make any progress” in resolving the conflict, which the Republican president had promised to swiftly deliver to a conclusion.
“I’m not comfortable about that,” he mentioned.
The Kremlin described the dialog as “frank and constructive” — the sixth publicly disclosed chat between the 2 leaders since Trump returned to the White Home.
Whereas discussing the state of affairs round Iran and within the broader Center East, Putin emphasised the necessity to resolve all variations “completely by political and diplomatic means,” mentioned Yuri Ushakov, his overseas affairs adviser.
The leaders agreed that Russian and U.S. officers will preserve contact on the problem, he added.
The US struck three websites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel’s conflict aimed toward destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.
On the battle in Ukraine, Ushakov mentioned Trump emphasised his push for a fast halt to the combating, and Putin voiced Moscow’s readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv, noting the earlier rounds in Turkey yielded humanitarian outcomes.
On the identical time, the Russian chief emphasised that Moscow will search to attain its objectives in Ukraine and take away the “root causes” of the battle, Ushakov mentioned.
“Russia is not going to again down from these objectives,” Ushakov informed reporters after the decision.
Putin has argued he despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a risk to Russia posed by Ukraine’s push to hitch NATO and to guard Russian audio system in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any potential peace deal should see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and acknowledge Russia’s territorial beneficial properties.
Ushakov mentioned a suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn’t mentioned within the Trump-Putin name.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned in Denmark after assembly with main European Union backers that he might discuss to Trump within the coming days concerning the suspension.
“I hope that perhaps tomorrow, or shut days, as of late, I’ll talk about it with President Trump,” he mentioned.
The earlier publicly recognized name between Trump and Putin got here June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran.
The resumed contact between Trump and Putin appeared to mirror their curiosity in mending U.S.-Russian ties which have plummeted to their lowest level because the Chilly Battle.
Ushakov mentioned the leaders mentioned developments in Syria and expressed curiosity in pursuing bilateral tasks within the vitality sector and house exploration, throughout what he described as “frank, businesslike and concrete dialog.”
The Kremlin adviser added that Putin even instructed that the U.S. and Russia may alternate films selling “conventional values shared by us and the Trump administration.”
On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct phone name in virtually three years.
Related Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Lorne Prepare dinner in Aarhus, Denmark, contributed.