{"text":[[{"start":6.44,"text":"Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump that Russia did not have “aggressive plans” against Europe and praised US peacemaking efforts to end his war in Ukraine in a phone call on Tuesday, the Kremlin said."}],[{"start":18.6,"text":"The call was the first time the presidents of Russia and the US had spoken since western security officials began warning that Russia was stepping up its “hybrid war” against Europe this summer."}],[{"start":30.36,"text":"Ukraine’s allies say Russia is waging a covert campaign of sabotage like the foiled attack with an explosives-laden drone at a German airport last month to deter western support for Kyiv."}],[{"start":40.6,"text":"Putin described those accusations as “myths” and accused European governments of using the alleged threat from Russia as “cover to increase their support for Ukraine and their own defence spending”, according to his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov."}],[{"start":53.58,"text":"Ushakov said the call lasted exactly an hour and was mostly devoted to discussing US efforts to end Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth year."}],[{"start":62.68,"text":"The leaders “gave a positive assessment” to the recent trip to Moscow and Kyiv by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, agreeing that “work on this channel will be continued”, Ushakov said."}],[{"start":75.48,"text":"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said he was aware of the call and that the Ukrainian and US leaders would speak when both presidents were “ready . . . and when it is needed”."}],[{"start":84.88,"text":"Kyiv and Washington are working on plans for Zelenskyy and Trump to potentially meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":95.819,"text":"US attempts to broker an end to the war have so far foundered in large part on Putin’s refusal to back down on his hardline demands for a settlement."}],[{"start":104.52,"text":"Russia has previously demanded Ukraine surrender the frontline Donbas region as well as other territories, abandon its drive to join Nato, accept limits on the size of its armed forces and give Moscow a wide-ranging say in its future governance. Kyiv has said those conditions amount to surrender."}],[{"start":120.28,"text":"Putin gave Trump an “objective and comprehensive analysis” of the state of play on the battlefield and “outlined what the Americans could really do for an immediate ceasefire”, Ushakov said."}],[{"start":131.66,"text":"The White House did not immediately comment on the Kremlin readout of the call. Ushakov said Putin praised US efforts to find a settlement as well as first lady Melania Trump’s work to reunite children displaced during the war."}],[{"start":145.18,"text":"Trump told Putin he wanted the war to end as soon as possible and hoped for a “breakthrough” during his presidential term, which ends in 2029, Ushakov said."}],[{"start":154.36,"text":"A ceasefire would immediately allow the US and Russia to fully restore their relationship and create trade relations with “colossal advantages for both sides”, Trump said, according to Ushakov."}],[{"start":166.32,"text":"The leaders agreed to remain in contact and would speak again when needed, he added."}],[{"start":170.88,"text":"Additional reporting by Christopher Miller in New York and Steff Chávez in Washington"}],[{"start":179.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788928425_4748.mp3"}