Interesting - the phone call was initiated by Rus; summary by Yurij Ushakov:
Y.Ushakov: Dear colleagues, good evening!
Another telephone conversation took place between the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. This conversation lasted for more than an hour and a half. The two Presidents communicated in a friendly, open, and business-like manner.
It is quite understandable that Vladimir Putin was the first to express his support for the US President following the attempted assassination on April 25 at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Fortunately, neither Donald Trump nor his wife or any of their entourage were injured. The attacker was quickly neutralized by the security service. The Russian leader strongly condemned this crime, emphasizing the unacceptable nature of any form of politically motivated violence.
By the way, it was mentioned that the dangerous incident occurred just before the first lady of the United States celebrated her birthday on April 26. Melania Trump received congratulations and her contribution to the efforts to reunite Russian and Ukrainian children with their families was acknowledged.
The Presidents focused on the situation around Iran and in the Persian Gulf.
Vladimir Putin believes that Donald Trump's decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran is the right one. This should provide an opportunity for negotiations and help stabilize the situation.
At the same time, the President of Russia drew attention to the inevitable and extremely detrimental consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but also for the entire international community, if the United States and Israel once again resort to force. And of course, the option of a ground operation on Iranian territory is completely unacceptable and dangerous.
Russia is firmly committed to providing all possible assistance to diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, and has proposed a number of ideas aimed at resolving the disagreements surrounding the Iranian nuclear program. To this end, active contacts will be continued with Iranian representatives, leaders of the Gulf countries, as well as with Israel and, of course, the team of American negotiators.
Donald Trump outlined his assessments of the outcome of the recent phase of military confrontation, as well as his views on the current complex situation facing Iran and its leadership.
As for the Ukrainian settlement, the American President emphasized the importance of an early cessation of hostilities, as well as his readiness to contribute to this in every possible way. His representatives will continue to maintain contact with both Moscow and Kiev. Donald Trump believes that a deal that would end the conflict in Ukraine is already close at hand.
At Trump's request, Vladimir Putin described the current situation on the contact line, where our troops are maintaining a strategic advantage and pushing back the enemy's positions. He also mentioned that since the beginning of 2025, Russia has transferred over 20,000 bodies to Ukraine, while Ukraine has transferred just over 500 bodies to Russia.
Both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have essentially expressed similar assessments of the behavior of the Kiev regime led by Zelensky, who, encouraged and supported by the Europeans, is pursuing a policy of prolonging the conflict.
The Russian leader has explicitly stated that Kiev is resorting to outright terrorist methods by attacking purely civilian facilities on Russian territory.
Our President has once again confirmed that the goals of the special military operation will be achieved in any case. Of course, we would prefer this to be the result of a negotiation process, for which Zelensky must respond positively to the well-known proposals that have been made repeatedly, including by the American side.
It is noteworthy that Donald Trump has positively assessed the recent Easter truce announced by Russia. In this regard, Vladimir Putin informed his American counterpart about his readiness to declare a truce for the period of Victory Day celebrations. Trump actively supported this initiative, noting that the holiday marks our shared victory over Nazism in World War II.
During the discussion of Russian-American relations, both sides spoke about the great prospects for mutually beneficial projects in the economy and energy sector. As the Presidents noted, a number of large-scale economic initiatives are already being discussed between representatives of our countries.
The presidents agreed to continue maintaining contacts, both personally and through their assistants and representatives.
The presidents said their goodbyes warmly and wished each other all the best.
Question: Who initiated the phone call?
Y.Ushakov: I would like to note that this was an initiative of the Russian side, the Russian President.
Thank you.
