The presidents of Russia and the United States of America, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, spoke by phone about key security issues that are currently burdening international relations – the war in the Middle East and the peace process in Ukraine. The conversation, according to the Kremlin, was held at the initiative of the American president and lasted about an hour.
According to the assistant to the Russian president Yuri Ushakov, the leaders of the two states during the conversation paid special attention to the sudden escalation of the situation in the Middle East region, primarily the conflict connected with Iran, as well as the prospects for a diplomatic resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.
“The emphasis of the conversation was on the situation surrounding the conflict with Iran and on the ongoing bilateral negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement with the participation of representatives of the United States,” Ushakov told journalists after the conversation.
As announced in Moscow, the telephone conversation was initiated at the initiative of the US president. The exchange of views, according to the Kremlin’s assessment, took place in a “businesslike and constructive atmosphere,” and the two leaders expressed readiness to continue regular communication on the most sensitive international issues in the coming period.
This is also one of the first direct contacts between the two presidents this year, at a time when the world is facing simultaneous crises in several geopolitical hotspots.
According to information from the Kremlin, Putin during the conversation presented several proposals that could contribute to a “rapid political and diplomatic resolution” of the conflict in the Middle East region.
The Russian president, as Ushakov stated, in that context pointed to a number of diplomatic contacts that Moscow has conducted in the previous period with leaders of the countries of the Persian Gulf, but also with the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian and other regional actors.
On the other hand, Trump presented his assessment of the situation in light of the joint military operations of the United States and Israel against Iranian targets, which in recent weeks have led to a sharp escalation of the conflict in the region.
The American president simultaneously emphasized in statements to the media that Washington has not yet made a decision on possible ground operations in Iran, although military and diplomatic activities continue.
In addition to the Middle East, a significant part of the conversation was also devoted to the war in Ukraine. During the conversation Putin informed the American president about, as the Kremlin stated, the “successful advancement of the Russian armed forces” in the zone of the special military operation.
At the same time, the possibilities for a political resolution of the conflict were also discussed. According to the Kremlin, Trump reiterated Washington’s interest in achieving a ceasefire and a long-term peace agreement as soon as possible.
The American president has previously emphasized that he advocates a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine, calling on the Ukrainian leadership to enter into serious negotiations with Moscow.
The Kremlin emphasized that Putin and Trump at the end of the conversation confirmed their readiness to continue regular contacts at the highest level, which Moscow sees as an important communication channel in conditions of increased global tensions.
The telephone conversation between the two leaders took place at a time when the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East are strongly connected with broader issues of global security, energy and relations between major powers, which makes their dialogue one of the key diplomatic channels in the current international environment.
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Source: Politika, Foto: AP