The Presidents of the USA and Russia, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, held a phone conversation on April 29 that lasted more than an hour and a half, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.
As reported by the Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Yuri Ushakov, Putin expressed support to Trump in connection with the assassination attempt on him and strongly condemned what happened.
Vladimir Putin declared his readiness to announce a ceasefire during the celebration of Victory Day.
“Donald Trump positively assessed the recently announced Easter ceasefire by Russia. In this regard, Vladimir Putin informed his American colleague about the readiness to announce a ceasefire also during the Victory Day celebrations, and Trump actively supported this initiative,” Ushakov said.
The Russian president also informed his American colleague about the situation in the combat zone in Ukraine, emphasizing that the goals of the special military operation will be achieved, but Moscow would prefer to resolve the issue through negotiations. According to him, for conflict resolution, Vladimir Zelensky should respond positively to the previously voiced proposals.
According to Ushakov, Trump emphasized the importance of a swift cessation of hostilities and also his readiness to contribute to this in every possible way: “His trusted representatives will continue contacts with both Moscow and Kyiv. Donald Trump believes that a deal that would end the conflict in Ukraine is already close.”
Both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump expressed essentially similar assessments of the behavior of the Kyiv regime led by Zelensky, who, incited by Europeans and with their support, is pursuing a line to prolong the conflict, Ushakov noted.
The situation around Iran was discussed separately. Putin positively assessed Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire regime and stated that this could contribute to stabilizing the situation.
In addition, the Russian president emphasized that a ground operation against Iran would be “unacceptable and dangerous.”
Trump called his conversation with Putin “very good.” He also stated that he hopes for a speedy peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.
Putin, according to Trump, was ready to make a deal on Ukraine some time ago, but “some people” prevented him.
Differences between the USA and European countries on Ukraine remain, noted Trump.
How Trump confused Iran and Ukraine
During a press conference, Trump likely confused Iran with Ukraine when answering a journalist’s question about which of the two conflicts, in his opinion, would end sooner, the BBC’s Russian Service reports.
“I don’t know. Maybe the timelines will be the same,” replied the US president. And he continued: “Ukraine… militarily they have been defeated. You won’t hear about this from the fake media, but militarily… the fleet… 159 ships — and all of them are now underwater.”
A week earlier, Trump had already stated that the American military had sunk 159 Iranian ships, so from the context, it is obvious: when talking about military defeat, he meant Iran, not Ukraine.
Soon after the press conference, this was pointed out by the officer of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, Andrey Kovalenko. “Trump confused Ukraine and Iran when talking about the ‘159 sunken ships’ and the defeat in the war. It is important to clarify this,” Kovalenko wrote.
CNN also noted that when discussing military defeat, Trump likely mistakenly named another country.
The White House has not yet commented on these statements by Trump.
