Putin didn't mention military aid in phone call, Trump says
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not discuss military aid to Ukraine during his phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to an interview Trump gave with Fox News following the call.
Trump and Putin spoke for nearly two hours on March 18. During the call, Putin agreed to accept a limited 30-day pause on energy infrastructure attacks but did not agree to the broader ceasefire proposed by the U.S. The Kremlin later issued a statement demanding Ukraine stop receiving foreign military aid as a condition of the ceasefire.
In an interview with Fox News correspondent Laura Ingraham following the call, Trump denied that Putin demanded a freeze on military aid to Kyiv.
"No he didn't, we didn't talk about aid, actually we didn't talk about aid at all," Trump said.
"We talked about a lot of things, but aid was never discussed."
Trump described the conversation as "a great call" and said that other topics included improving U.S.-Russian relations and expanding trade.
"With Russia we don't have that much trade, and they'd like to, and we'd like to also," he said.
"They have some valuable things for us, including very big forms of rare earth. They have a lot of earth, you know. They have a big chunk of real estate. The biggest, actually. The biggest in the world, for a country, by far. And on that, they have things that we could use, frankly, and other people could use."
Trump has previously expressed interest in exploring Russia's significant mineral deposits, even as he simultaneously pursues a natural resources deal with Kyiv. Putin also said on Feb. 24 that Moscow is open to working with foreign partners on developing rare earth metals, including in occupied regions of Ukraine.
After the March 18 call, the Kremlin issued a statement saying Trump and Putin were open to developing "mutually beneficial cooperation in the economy and energy sector."
"I think Russia wants to get along with the United States," Trump told Fox News.
Russia is interested in gaining accesss to American "economic power," he added.
While Trump denied that Putin personally demanded a freeze on military aid to Ukraine during the phone call, he did not say whether the U.S. would agree to such a demand. The U.S. earlier this month suspended military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine for a week following a White House clash between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The U.S. resumed sending weapons and intelligence after Ukrainian officials held talks with a White House delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on March 11.
Zelensky told reporters on March 18 that he did not believe Ukraine's allies would agree to Russia's demands for a freeze on military aid.
Abbey Fenbert
