Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Donald Trump on April 29—in the middle of King Charles III’s triumphal visit to the United States—to discuss the urgent issues of the wars in Iran and Ukraine, and to put ideas on the table to bring both conflicts to a peaceful conclusion. Their call lasted an hour and a half and it put reality back on the table for the American president.
According to a machine translation of the readout of the Putin-Trump call provided by Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the talk was “friendly, frank, and businesslike… Putin’s first words of support were to the US President following the assassination attempt on him on April 25 at the Washington Hilton Hotel.”
Putin then turned to the Iran issue, stating his belief that “Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran is the right one. This should provide an opportunity for negotiations and generally help stabilize the situation.” However, Putin then “drew attention to the inevitable, extremely dire consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but for the entire international community, if the US and Israel resort to force again. And, of course, a ground operation on Iranian territory seems completely unacceptable and dangerous.”
Putin once again offered Russia’s good offices for trying to resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program; from President Trump’s subsequent public remarks, it appears likely that Putin renewed Russia’s offer to take custody of Iran’s enriched uranium. He added that “active contacts will continue with Iranian representatives”—he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on April 27—"leaders of the Persian Gulf states, as well as with Israel and, naturally, the American negotiating team.”
