Putin tells Trump Russia's objectives in Ukraine remain unchanged

Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump that Russia's objectives in the war in Ukraine remained unchanged, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said after the leaders' October 9 telephone call.

According to the aide, Putin also maintained that Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory would not halt Russian troops' advance. Those statements represent the Kremlin's assessment. Ushakov said Russia remained willing to pursue a political and diplomatic settlement aimed at achieving lasting, sustainable peace.

Ushakov said the presidents had previously discussed resuming three-way negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine after Russia's parliamentary elections. He now attributed the delay in talks to Ukrainian attacks during the voting period.

Putin had earlier said the discussion devoted considerable attention to prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The presidents also discussed Iran and bilateral relations, including possible supplies of Russian petroleum products to American and global markets.