MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone and discussed several global issues, including the conflict between India and Pakistan, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov said during a briefing.
“They also touched upon the Middle East and the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which was stopped with the personal participation of President Trump,” Ushakov said, as reported by Russian news agency TASS. However, Yury Ushakov didn’t reveal the exact details during the briefing.
During the conversation, Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin warned him “very strongly” that he would respond to Ukraine’s stunning attack on Russian airfields, adding that any immediate prospect of peace remained far off.
Kyiv’s daring mass drone strikes on Sunday destroyed several nuclear-capable bombers worth billions of dollars, and dominated the third call between the Russian and US presidents since Trump returned to power. Earlier, Putin had appeared to rule out a ceasefire or any direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Turkey has suggested it could host such negotiations and invited Trump, too.
“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace,” said Trump in a social media post. “President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields.” The US leader added that during his call with Putin, they had “discussed the attack on Russia’s docked airplanes” as well as other attacks “by both sides.”
The leaders also touched on Iran, with Trump expressing the view that Russia’s cooperation was essential in addressing the issue, Ushakov said. The Kremlin described the call, which also focused on negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, as “positive” and “productive.”
Putin’s call with Trump appeared to be part of a diplomatic offensive by the Russian leader, who discussed the Ukraine war with Pope Leo XIV in a telephone conversation on Wednesday.
The Kremlin said Putin told the US-born pope he wanted peace through diplomacy but added that “the regime in Kyiv is betting on an escalation of the conflict and carrying out of acts of sabotage against civil infrastructure on Russian territory.”
Putin earlier accused Ukraine of being behind “terrorist” attacks on bridges in its border regions over the weekend, including one that caused a train to derail, killing seven people. He said any full ceasefire would just give Kyiv a chance to rearm.
“Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilization and to prepare different terrorist acts,” Putin said in a televised government meeting.
Zelensky said Ukraine was ready “any day” for a meeting proposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that would also include the US and Russian leaders. The White House says Trump is “open” to such a meeting.