Trump and Putin speak by phone about Iran war and Ukraine

Another focus of the call was Ukraine. According to the report, Trump once again advocated for an end to the fighting. "Trump sei dabei erneut für ein Ende der Kämpfe in der Ukraine eingetreten," Tass reported. This information also comes from the Russian state news agency's report and was not initially confirmed by independent sources.

Background: The USA, Russia, and the Ukraine war

Since Trump took office, Washington has been trying to push both parties to the conflict – Russia and Ukraine – toward a peace settlement. Russia has been waging an offensive war against Ukraine since 2022. Concrete results of these mediation efforts have so far failed to materialize.

The US president's birthday fell on the day of publication. Trump turned 80. In Washington, according to reports, he had celebrated the previous day with a UFC fight on the lawn of the White House; the event also served as the kickoff for celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

State of sources and open questions

The initiative for the phone call and the exact timing were not specified in the available reports. The duration of the conversation and whether other topics were discussed also remained open. Tass limited itself to the contents mentioned.

The reporting on the call is essentially based on the Russian side. Independent confirmations from Washington were not available at the time of the report. The White House and the Kremlin initially did not comment on divergent accounts.

Political assessment

The Ukrainian government's reactions to Trump's recent remarks to Putin were not documented in the available sources. European capitals involved in the mediation process also did not comment in the available reports.

Overall, the phone call shows that the diplomatic channels between the USA and Russia continue to exist, even if the contents of the conversation largely correspond to the known positions of the two sides. The Russian account emphasizes above all the personal element through the birthday congratulation and the mention of bilateral relations.

The report was disseminated by dpa-AFX from Moscow. It fits into a series of similar reports about phone calls between Trump and Putin that are said to have taken place in recent months and were each made public by the Russian side.

The fact that Trump was celebrating his 80th birthday and the call coincided with that gave the conversation a symbolic character from the Russian perspective. What practical impact the phone call will have on the ongoing conflicts remained initially unclear.