US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for nearly an hour by phone on June 14, with discussions centering on the latest armed conflict between Iran and Israel.
Trump, who turned 79 on June 14, said in a posting on his Truth Social platform that while the talks focused on the Middle East, he also told Putin that “his war” in Ukraine should be ended.
“President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well,” Trump wrote.
SEE ALSO: Tensions Are Surging Amid Israel-Iran Attacks. So Are Oil Prices“We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week. He is doing the planned prisoner swaps -- large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides.
“The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump added.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the potential for escalation.
Ushakov said the two leaders did not rule out a return to negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States scheduled for June 15 in Muscat were canceled, Oman's foreign minister announced, following the exchange of air strikes between Israel and Iran.
"The Russian president recalled that prior to the current rise in tension our side had proposed concrete steps intended to find mutually acceptable agreements during talks between US and Iranian representatives about the Iranian nuclear program," Ushakov said.
SEE ALSO: War Fears Rise As Iran Retaliates With Missile Barrage After Israeli Strikes"Russia's principled approach and interest in a resolution is unchanged and, as Vladimir Putin noted, we will continue to act based on this."
On Ukraine, Ushakov said Putin told Trump that the Kremlin was ready to resume talks with Kyiv after June 22, after completion of exchange of prisoners and soldiers' bodies.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine did exchange a number of war prisoners on June 14, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which said the move was in line with an agreement reached by the two sides in Istanbul earlier this month.
There was no word on the number of prisoners exchanged.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Says It Has Repatriated 1,200 More Bodies Of Its Citizens Killed In The WarSince June 2, Russia and Ukraine have already conducted several prisoners of war exchanges for those under the age of 25. About 1,000 prisoners from both sides were exchanged on May 23-25.
Trump has pressed for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia along with reaching a nuclear deal with Tehran but has not made major progress in the efforts.
Trump has expressed frustrations with Putin over his refusal to accept a US-proposed cease-fire deal.
Russia and Ukraine have both suffered major losses in personnel, property, and infrastructure since the Kremlin's unprovoked full-scale invasion of February 2022.
Western nations have condemned Russia's actions and slapped crippling financial sanctions against Moscow.