Washington: President Donald Trump said he held a “very good” call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the Ukraine war and the escalating conflict in the Middle East as the United States continues military operations against Iran.
At a news conference in Florida, Trump confirmed the conversation with the Russian leader and said both sides discussed the war in Ukraine before turning to the situation in the Middle East.
“Yes. Yes, I had a very good call with President Putin,” Trump said in response to a question. “We had a lot of people on the line from our side, from his side. We were talking about Ukraine, which is just a never-ending fight.”
Trump said the conversation included a discussion of the personal tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which he suggested were complicating efforts to end the conflict.
“When — look, there’s tremendous hatred between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. They can’t seem to get it together,” he said.
Despite the difficulties, Trump described the exchange as constructive.
“But I think it was a positive call on that subject and we obviously talked then about the Middle East,” he said.
Trump said Putin had indicated he wanted to play a constructive role in the unfolding crisis.
“And he wants to be helpful,” Trump said.However, the US president added that ending the Russia-Ukraine war would be a more meaningful contribution from Moscow.
“I said, you could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with; that would be more helpful,” he said.
“But we had a very good talk, and he wants to be very constructive.”
Trump did not provide details about any specific proposals discussed during the call. The remarks came as the United States and Israel continue large-scale military operations against Iran under what the administration has called Operation Epic Fury.
The US president also used the press conference to highlight the scale of the military campaign against Iran, claiming thousands of targets had been struck and major elements of Tehran’s military capability destroyed.
The call with Putin came amid heightened global tensions and growing diplomatic activity involving major powers as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.
(IANS)
