Putin-Trump Talks Amid International Tensions: ‘Practical Discussions’ for Peace in Iran and Ukraine
Kathmandu / Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation on Monday evening. Informing journalists about the call, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said, “President Trump called President Putin to discuss a number of critically important topics related to current developments in the international situation.”
According to him, the conversation was primarily focused on the Iran crisis and the trilateral negotiations for a Ukraine peace settlement. Ushakov described the talks as “businesslike, frank and constructive.”
Ushakov stated that during the conversation, President Trump reiterated his interest in seeing the Ukraine conflict end quickly with a ceasefire to achieve a long-term settlement. This was the first telephone conversation between the two leaders after a long time. Prior to this, they had last spoken in late December.
Regarding the Iran crisis, Putin expressed a number of considerations aimed at the earliest political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, including taking stock of the contacts held with the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries, Iran’s president, and the leaders of other countries. Similarly, Trump provided his assessment of the evolving situation in the context of the ongoing US-Israeli operation.
On the Ukraine war, Ushakov noted that Putin provided an account of the current developments on combat contact, where Russian troops are advancing very successfully, expressing the view that this should encourage Kyiv to finally embark on the path to negotiations. He stated, “This is a factor that should encourage Kyiv to finally embark on the path of a negotiated settlement of the conflict.”
The two leaders also discussed the issue of Venezuela, primarily in the context of the current state of the global oil market. Ushakov said, “Overall, I repeat that the conversation was very substantive and will undoubtedly be of practical importance for the further cooperation between the two countries in various areas of international policy.”
