President Donald Trump voiced frustration on Friday, July 3, over his recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that the Kremlin shows no interest in ending its war on Ukraine.

 

Speaking to reporters after returning from a pre-Independence Day rally in Iowa, Trump said, “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had yesterday with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”

 

Trump placed blame on the Biden administration, saying, “It’s Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like with immigration and a lot of other things they messed up. But I was not happy with the conversation.”

 

According to a summary from the Kremlin, Putin reiterated during the roughly hour-long call that Russia remains committed to the objectives of its invasion of Ukraine and will not back down. Moscow continues to insist that any peace agreement must acknowledge its territorial claims in eastern Ukraine—terms firmly rejected by Kyiv. Russia has also declined multiple ceasefire proposals from the U.S. and its European allies, even those endorsed by Ukraine.

 

“I didn’t make any progress with Putin at all,” Trump admitted before traveling to Iowa.

 

Meanwhile, the White House earlier this week confirmed a temporary halt in certain military aid to Ukraine to assess U.S. weapon stockpiles. Trump criticized the pause, arguing that the Biden administration has weakened U.S. defense capacity. “Biden emptied out our whole country, giving them weapons, and we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves,” he said. “We’ve given so many weapons, but we are still working with them and trying to help.”

 

Trump recently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in The Hague, where he suggested the U.S. may provide additional Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. Before heading out to play golf in Virginia on Friday, Trump also spoke with Zelensky again.