Had good conversation with Putin, talked a bit about Iran, mostly discussed Ukraine: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he held a “very good conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing primarily on Ukraine while also discussing Iran, as he suggested potential diplomatic movement on both fronts.

“I talked about Ukraine, and I talked a little bit about Iran… mostly about Ukraine,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday (local time) during an Oval Office interaction with NASA officials and astronauts.

The President indicated that he had urged Putin to consider a ceasefire, highlighting the scale of casualties in the ongoing conflict. “I suggested a little bit of a cease fire… there’s so many people being killed; it’s so ridiculous,” he said.

Trump added that Putin could make an announcement related to such a move. “He might announce something having to do with that,” he said, though no confirmation was immediately available.

When asked about Putin’s position, Trump said, “I think he’d like to see a solution; I can tell you, and that’s good.”

Responding to a question on Iran, Trump reiterated his administration’s red line, saying Tehran would not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. “We’re not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding that the US had significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities.

He claimed that key elements of Iran’s defence infrastructure had been neutralised. “We’ve knocked out their Navy, we’ve knocked out their Air Force, we’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft everything apparatus,” Trump said.

The President also said Putin had expressed interest in being involved in Iran-related discussions, but he redirected the focus. “He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment… I said, I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine,” Trump said.

Trump described ongoing US-Iran engagement as largely remote. “We’re doing it telephonically… You know the answer,” he said, while noting his preference for in-person meetings.

He stressed that any agreement would depend on Iran abandoning nuclear ambitions. “At this moment, there will never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons,” he said.

When asked which conflict might end first, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I don’t know; maybe they’re on a similar timetable,” he said.

The President also suggested that Russia’s military position in Ukraine was significantly weakened. “Militarily they’re defeated,” he said, while criticising media coverage of the war.

IANS