In ‘productive’ call, Putin agrees with Trump that Iran ‘should never be able to destroy Israel’

The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

During a 90-minute phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders agreed that negotiations in the Middle East should begin immediately.

The main issue the two leaders discussed during the call was bringing the war between Ukraine and Russia to a close.

White House spokesman Dan Scavino said the call began at 10:00 a.m. EDT and ended at 12:52 p.m.

During the call, which Trump described on social media as “very good and productive,” the two leaders agreed that Russia would cease its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for the next 30 days. They also agreed on issues concerning conflict in the Middle East.

“The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel,” the White House said.

“They agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has a huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved,” the White House continued.

In November, Russia offered to participate in ceasefire negotiations that helped conclude the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, saying it was willing to be an indirect but crucial player in the negotiations to ensure “that Syria will not continue to be a weapons highway” to Hezbollah.

Moscow maintains a largely covert military presence and wields significant influence in Syria, having supported fomer dictator Bashar Assad in retaining power and reclaiming roughly half of the country from various rebel groups following the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

A “senior Kremlin official” told Kan News that “Russia is prepared to assist and support anything that would stop the killing of civilians and prevent the destruction of civilian infrastructure.”