MOSCOW, March 9 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a quick resolution to the conflict surrounding Iran during a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Ushakov, who recounted the conversation to reporters, said the two leaders also discussed the conflict in Ukraine and noted that Russia’s progress should push Kiev negotiators toward a solution.
He described the entire discussion as “very substantive” and said it “could be of practical significance for further work between the two countries”.
Ushakov said Putin “expressed several ideas aimed at a swift political and diplomatic end to the conflict in Iran, including contacts with leaders of the Gulf states, the president of Iran and other leaders.”
He said Trump “evaluated the progress of the U.S.-Israeli action. I would say there was a very substantive and undoubtedly helpful exchange of views.”
Ushakov said Trump believed it was in U.S. interests to “quickly end the conflict in Ukraine through a ceasefire and a long-term solution.”
He said developments in Ukraine were characterized by “a fairly successful advance by Russian forces. As noted, this is a factor that should push the regime in Kiev to finally embark on the path to a negotiated settlement of the conflict”.
Ushakov also said that the two presidents also discussed the situation in Venezuela in the context of global oil markets.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Vladimir Soldakin; Editing by Ron Popeski and Alistair Bell)