Putin's birthday call to Trump sparks talk of Iran and Ukraine prisoner swap
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called US President Donald Trump to wish him a happy birthday. During the conversation, they discussed the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
"President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He said Putin is indeed carrying out a planned prisoner swap. According to the US President, a large number of prisoners on both sides have been exchanged in recent days.
"The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, that this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end," the US leader added.
Earlier in the day, Putin's aide Yury Ushakov said the call lasted around 50 minutes and was "useful," according to Russian media.
Ushakov also said Putin expressed Russia's readiness to resume talks with Ukraine after June 22.
At the same time, according to Ushakov, Trump once again voiced interest in ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible.
Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also responded to the private talks between Putin and Trump. He said he believes Putin will eventually deceive Trump about his intentions to end the war in Ukraine.
