Trump and Putin hold call, discuss Iran-Israel tensions, Ukraine war

Washington –  President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, the White House and Kremlin confirmed. 

In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Trump said Putin called him on Saturday to “wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well.”

“We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week,” Mr. Trump said, adding that the call lasted “approximately 1 hour.” “He feels, as I do, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end.”

Mr. Trump did not provide additional details about the call.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said that during the conversation, Putin briefed Mr. Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.

“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the center of the exchange of opinions,” Ushakov told journalists following the conversation between the two leaders.

“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” he said, warning of “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”

According to Ushakov, Putin also emphasized Russia’s readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts and noted that Russia had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during U.S.-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.

“Russia’s principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,” Ushakov said.

Mr. Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming,” Ushakov said, but acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran. 

The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.

According to Ushakov, Putin told Mr. Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.

Mr. Trump said that Putin is moving forward with the planned prisoner swap.

“He is doing the planned prisoner swaps – large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides.”

“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.

Mr. Trump, he said, “noted his interest in a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”

The leaders last spoke on June 4 for over an hour, where they discussed Putin’s plans to respond to Ukraine’s drone strike on Russian air bases. Mr. Trump posted some details from the conversation on his Truth Social account and said they also discussed Iran. 

Before that, Mr. Trump’s last known phone call with Putin was in May and lasted two hours.