Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes today. According to news agency Reuters quoting the Kremlin, he condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the risks of escalation.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
According to Bloomberg quoting Ushakov, the US President told Putin that he doesn’t rule out a return by the US to the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
News agency AP quoting Ushakov reports that Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming”. He acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran. Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.
“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Assures Assistance To Iran In De-escalation With Israel
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the Israeli strikes against Iran and expressed Moscow’s readiness to resolve Tehran’s nuclear issue and de-escalation with Israel. The comment of Lavrov comes during a telephone call by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a readout, reports news agency PTI.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Araghchi’s call was in continuation of President Vladimir Putin’s phone call on Friday night with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“To continue the June 13 phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Russian side has repeatedly stressed that Moscow condemns Israel’s operation against Iran, carried out in violation of the UN Charter and the norms of international law,” the ministry said.
“The readiness was confirmed to continue facilitating efforts on settling the situation around Iran’s nuclear programme as well as on de-escalating the conflict between Iran and Israel,” the foreign ministry added.
