US President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, discussing the wars in Ukraine and Iran even as Washington pressed ahead with its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump told reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office that the conversation was “very good” and that the US was “going to come up with a solution relatively quickly” over its ongoing conflict with Iran.
“He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment if he can help us get it. I said I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war in Ukraine. To me, that would be more important,” he said of the call, referring to the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium, which has been a key obstacle to an Iran deal.
Asked if another round of strikes on Tehran was necessary, Trump said “I don’t know. We have talks”.
“They’ve come a long way,” he said. “The question is whether or not they’re going to go far enough. So at this moment, there will never be a deal unless they agree there will be no nuclear weapons.”
Trump last week extended Washington’s fragile ceasefire with Tehran but kept its naval blockade of Iranian ports in place. Talks appear to have reached a deadlock over key issues including Iran’s nuclear programme and the US blockade itself.
With talks stalled and the prospect of a prolonged blockade of Iran’s ports, the price of Brent crude oil soared to around US$126 a barrel on Thursday to a four-year high.
The Wednesday call followed a meeting between Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow on Monday, with the Russian leader pledging to maintain “strategic relations” with Iran and “do everything that meets your interests”.
Russian media quoted Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that the call between Putin and Trump lasted over an hour and a half, describing the conversation as “held in a friendly tone, and was frank and businesslike”.
Putin viewed Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran as “the right one as it should give negotiations a chance and help stabilise the situation in general”, Ushakov said.
But the Russian leader also “highlighted the inevitable and extremely damaging consequences not only for Iran and its neighbours, but also for the entire international community, should the US and Israel resort to military action once again”.
According to the Kremlin aide, Putin also told Trump that he was ready to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine for the duration of Victory Day celebrations and that the US president “actively supported this initiative”.
Russia marks Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. In 2025, Putin similarly declared a three-day ceasefire for its Victory Day celebrations.
Russia’s war with Ukraine, which has entered its fifth year, has killed thousands of civilians and forced millions to flee their homes.
“At Trump’s request, Vladimir Putin described the current situation along the line of contact [in Ukraine], where our troops are holding the strategic initiative and pushing back the enemy’s positions,” Ushakov said.
“Both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump expressed essentially similar assessments of the behaviour of the Kyiv regime led by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, which, incited and with the support of the Europeans, is pursuing a policy of prolonging the conflict.”
Ushakov said the two leaders agreed to continue staying in touch “personally” and “shared a warm goodbye”.
Trump and Putin last spoke on March 9 – just days after US and Israel launched massive strikes on Tehran – during which they touched on issues including the Iranian conflict and the Ukraine war. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
