Afrasianet - Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a quick political and diplomatic settlement to the Iran conflict during a phone call with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Monday, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Ushakov explained at a press conference in Moscow that the call came at the request of the United States and lasted about an hour, without revealing the exact details of the talks, although he said that Putin had presented proposals to his American counterpart in order to reach a quick settlement of the war with Iran.
Putin also discussed with his US counterpart the course of the ongoing bilateral negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian issue, with the participation of representatives of the United States, in addition to developments in the situation in Venezuela and the prospects of the global oil market, according to Ushakov.
Putin expressed a positive assessment of Trump's mediation efforts aimed at reaching a political settlement to the war in Ukraine, although successive rounds of negotiations have so far failed to halt military operations on the ground.
Trump: Talks were positive
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a "positive phone conversation" with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about ending the four-year-old war in Ukraine.
"We touched on Ukraine where the fighting is not ending," Trump said during a news conference in Florida on Monday, adding, "But I think the call was positive on that issue."
Sanctions Relief
The call comes amid reports that the United States is considering easing sanctions on Russian oil to help curb the sharp rise in global energy prices due to the war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said at a news conference afterwards Monday that the United States could go to ease sanctions on Russian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said on Friday that the U.S. could ease more Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian oil to help boost global supplies.
Other Connections
In the same context, Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said that his country is stipulating "no further aggression for the ceasefire," noting that "several countries – including China , Russia and France – have communicated with us about the ceasefire."
Since February 28, Israel and the United States have been waging a war against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei , Revolutionary Guard commanders and security officials, as well as destroying military bases, rocket launchers, and more.
Iran has been responding with attacks on what it says are US bases and interests in the Persian Gulf states , Iraq and Jordan, but some have caused deaths, injuries and damage to civilian sites, which the targeted countries have condemned and demanded an end to the attacks.
