Yury Ushakov: As you know, today, July 4, the United States celebrates a national holiday – the 250th anniversary of its independence. The day before, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to US President Donald Trump on this occasion, expressing confidence that establishing constructive, equal, and mutually beneficial ties serves the interests not only of our peoples but also of the entire international community.
As a reminder, earlier, on the occasion of Russia Day on June 12, the US President sent a warm congratulatory message to Vladimir Putin. In it, Donald Trump paid tribute, I quote, to the rich history and culture of our country, as well as to the resilience of the Russian people.
Naturally, today’s telephone conversation between the two heads of state began with President Vladimir Putin personally congratulating Donald Trump and the entire American people on this significant holiday, recalling Russia’s contribution to the development of American statehood. In this context, the presidents noted the importance of carefully preserving the shared pages of history that bind us together. It was especially emphasized that our peoples will never forget their alliance during World War II.
Today, of course, America is celebrating Independence Day with great pomp and circumstance, just as Donald Trump knows how to organize. And our President, of course, took notice.
The conversation—the fourth this year—was, naturally, not only formal but also businesslike and quite constructive. It allowed for a frank discussion of current issues on the bilateral and international agenda. Incidentally, the conversation lasted almost an hour and a half, or one hour and twenty-five minutes to be precise.
The presidents naturally touched on the topic of the Ukrainian peace process, including in light of Donald Trump’s upcoming participation in the NATO summit in Turkey on July 7–8.
The American President reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate a speedy cessation of hostilities and the search for peaceful solutions to the crisis. His special representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will continue mediation efforts and are ready to travel to Moscow at a convenient time.
The Russian side once again emphasized the preference for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, while taking into account well-known, principled Russian approaches.
However, Kyiv and its European sponsors are betting on prolonging and even escalating the conflict, on terrorism against civilians. Moreover, the European “war party” is operating from a false perception of the overall situation and the state of affairs along the line of contact. Our President described the real situation on the battlefield, where the Russian Armed Forces are confidently advancing, liberating one settlement after another.
Establishing control over such a key stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as Kostiantynivka was an important stage in the liberation of the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. No matter how hard the Kyiv regime clings to the remaining fortified areas, our army will certainly take them.
Regarding the situation surrounding Iran, Vladimir Putin expressed hope that the negotiation process based on the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran will lead to mutually acceptable long-term solutions to key settlement issues. Russia’s readiness to provide practical assistance to de-escalate and stabilize the situation in the region was reaffirmed. Donald Trump, in turn, thanked the Russian side for its balanced position and constructive proposals.
Speaking about bilateral relations, the presidents emphasized the importance of continuing contacts, including on military-political and, of course, economic issues. Here, enormous prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries are evident. To achieve this, Donald Trump emphasized, it would be necessary to end the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible.
The conversation also noted the symbolism of the launch of a joint Russian-American crew to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the coming days. This is a concrete example confirming that the two powers are interested in working closely together, and in a wide variety of areas.
Naturally, this also applies to the cultural sphere, which unites our sympathetic peoples. Donald Trump, incidentally, mentioned his personal admiration for the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
The topic of football was also touched upon. Vladimir Putin, taking into account Russia’s experience in 2018, wished them continued success at the World Cup.
The leaders agreed to stay in touch and call again in the near future. Our President recalled that Donald Trump has a standing invitation to visit Russia.
It is worth mentioning that the Russian side initiated the previous telephone contact – on June 14, Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. This time, it was our American partners who proposed holding the conversation on the day of the 250th anniversary of US independence, and this was the case.