Middle East conflict, Ukraine-Russia war: What Donald Trump discussed with Vladimir Putin during 'birthday' call
Donald Trump says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin both agree the war between Israel and Iran "should end" amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
President Trump has confirmed the Russian leader called him on Saturday to wish him a happy 79th birthday, with the phone chat lasting about one hour.
The president said during the phone call he and Putin discussed various issues, including the escalating conflict in the Middle East as well as the Ukraine-Russia war.
"President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a happy birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well," President Trump wrote via Truth Social.
"We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia (and) Ukraine, but that will be for next week.
"He is doing the planned prisoner swaps - large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides.
"The call lasted approximately one hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end."
The phone call comes as Iran and Israel exchange rocket fire on the weekend.
Kremlin spokesperson Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and "expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict".
Before Israel's attack on Iran, the White House were in the midst of negotiations to seal a nuclear deal with Tehran.
President Trump looked at negotiating a fresh new deal on his terms after his first-term administration pulled out of Obama's backed Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
A planned meeting between the US and Iran was supposed to go ahead on Sunday in Muscat, Oman.
The talks have now been stalled following Israel's attack.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has tried to get peace talks rolling on another front with Mr Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the ongoing war has no signs of stopping, with an escalation of attacks continuing.
In May, a meeting was planned for discussions between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey.
However, Mr Putin refused to show up, leading to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Israel, Iran trade strikes for a third day as nuclear talks called off
Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were cancelled. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, and neither side showed any sign of backing down. Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign. Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, at around noon (6.30pm AEST) and again around 3.30pm. Semi-official news agencies close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard reported one strike in the area of Vali-e Asr Square downtown and another in a neighbourhood named for the air force, which is headquartered there. US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop.' He said the United States 'is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility.' Explosions in Tehran Iran's UN ambassador said Saturday that 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. There has been no official update since then. Israel says 13 people have been killed and more than 360 wounded in Iranian attacks. Iran has fired over 270 missiles, 22 of which made impact, according to official Israeli figures. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day. Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defense Ministry early Sunday after hitting air defences, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels. In a sign that Iran expects the Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters for the public beginning on Sunday night. Death toll mounts in Israel In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a nine-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing. An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass. Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors. Some people could be seen leaving the area with suitcases. Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, said 'there were a number of hits to buildings on the campus.' It said no one was harmed. Israel has sophisticated multi-tiered air defences that are able to detect and intercept missiles fired at populated areas or key infrastructure, but officials acknowledge it is imperfect. Urgent calls to deescalate World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate. The attack on nuclear sites set a 'dangerous precedent,' China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where the war is still raging after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off such calls, saying Israel's strikes so far are 'nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.' Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the US and others have assessed it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But it has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have been able to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so. The UN's atomic watchdog censured Iran last week. Araghchi, Iran's top diplomat, said Israel had targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran had targeted 'economic' sites in Israel, without elaborating. Semi-official Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike had caused a 'strong explosion' at an Iranian natural gas processing plant. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defence systems around them, which Israel has been targeting. An oil refinery was also damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded. Iran calls nuclear talks 'unjustifiable' A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table. Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said Saturday that the nuclear talks were 'unjustifiable' after Israel's strikes, which he said were the 'result of the direct support by Washington.' In a post on his Truth Social account early Sunday, Trump reiterated that the US was not involved in the attacks on Iran and warned that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response 'at levels never seen before.' 'However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!' he wrote.
Sky News AU
3 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Israel ‘immeasurably' stronger militarily since October 7
Incoming CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury discusses the future of the Israel-Iran conflict. Mr Stutchbury told Sky News host Paul Murray that Israel has got 'immeasurably' stronger as a military since the October 7 attack. 'The question there just three weeks ago, was, should Israel then take advantage of this great opportunity, historical opportunity, with Iran weakened, its proxies weakened … to take out its nuclear weapons facility?'
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Russia hands over 1,200 soldiers' bodies to Ukraine
Ukraine has received the bodies of another 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war with Russia, as part of agreements to exchange both prisoners of war and the dead, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. In several exchanges so far this month, Ukraine has repatriated more than 4,800 bodies, Ukrainian officials said. This marks one of the largest returns of war dead since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA both reported the handover, saying Moscow had not received a single Russian corpse in return. "As part of the agreements in Istanbul, the repatriation of the bodies of the deceased continues," said Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at talks in Istanbul earlier this month. "Today, the Russian side handed over another 1,200 bodies to Ukraine." Mr Umerov said the next step is the "important and responsible stage of identification". It is the fourth in a series of handovers of soldiers' remains to take place in the past week, in accordance with an agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine at talks in Istanbul. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to each hand over as many as 6,000 bodies and to exchange sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war and those aged under 25. Russia has so far reported only receiving a total of 27 Russian servicemen in return. Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers. Reuters
