Trump says June 4 phone call with Putin focused on Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump has stated that he had a good relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and said their June 4 phone call focused on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. 

He made this statement during an episode of the Pod Force One podcast by the New York Post, as per Caliber.Az.

During the podcast, Trump said he mostly talked with Putin about the war and “getting it over”. “I look, I had a great relationship with him [Putin]. And this war with Ukraine would have never happened if the [2020 U.S. presidential] election weren’t rigged," Trump said.  

The war in Ukraine began in February 2022, more than a year after Trump left office. Since then, Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Russian invasion would not have occurred had he remained in power, attributing the escalation to what he calls the weakness or mismanagement of the Biden administration. These claims remain central to his 2024 campaign rhetoric, particularly as he seeks to portray himself as a leader capable of swiftly ending the conflict through negotiation.

Trump has also consistently alleged that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was "rigged" or "stolen," despite the absence of evidence and the rejection of these claims by courts, election officials, and independent observers. Nevertheless, these assertions continue to resonate with a significant portion of his political base and shape his narrative on both domestic and foreign policy matters.

By Khagan Isayev