Putin and Trump to speak by phone in their 6th conversation this year

MOSCOW (AP) – U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they will speak by phone Thursday, their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House this year.

Trump said in a social media post the call will take place at 10 a.m. EDT. Neither leader offered any immediate details on the topic.

Their previous publicly known call came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran.

Their resumed contacts appeared to reflect both leaders’ interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the 3-year-old conflict in Ukraine.

Thursday’s call follows the Pentagon’s confirmation that it’s pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine as it goes about a global review of U.S. military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment.

The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is are being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details.

On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years.