Trump says he discussed a Ukraine ceasefire with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he discussed a possible ceasefire in the four-year war in Ukraine in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin .

He spoke after the Kremlin reported the two leaders discussed a temporary Ukraine ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II next month.

“We had a good talk, I’ve known him a long time,” said Trump. The two leaders had their last publicly reported phone call on March 9 , although Trump has indicated they speak regularly.

Trump, speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, said he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine in his phone call with the Russian leader.

“And I think he might do that,” Trump said, then asked reporters whether Putin had already announced a ceasefire.

Putin announced a similar truce last year that lasted three days but was not agreed with Kyiv.

Trump has a history of making positive comments about Putin and sharply criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for not agreeing to make a deal with Russia to end the war.

Help with Iran’s uranium

Trump said Putin offered to help on the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium, a key obstacle to a deal to end the Iran war, but “I said I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.”

“I said, before you help me, I want to end your war,” said Trump.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not say what proposals Putin had made on Iran. Moscow has previously offered to take enriched uranium out of the country.

Ushakov told reporters Putin had proposed the temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for celebrations on May 9 to mark the Soviet Union’s part in the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two. He said Trump reacted positively.

Ushakov added that Trump, in a friendly and businesslike conversation lasting over 1-1/2 hours, had said he believed a deal to end the Ukraine war was close.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三表示，他与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京通电话，讨论了乌克兰四年战争可能停火的问题。

此前克里姆林宫报道称，两位领导人讨论了为纪念下个月第二次世界大战结束周年而暂时在乌克兰停火，之后他发表了讲话。

“我们聊得很愉快，我认识他很久了，”特朗普说。据公开报道，两位领导人上次通话是在3月9日，不过特朗普曾表示他们经常通话。

特朗普在椭圆形办公室会见阿尔忒弥斯二号任务的宇航员时对记者说，他在与俄罗斯领导人的通话中建议在乌克兰战争中“稍微停火”。

“我认为他可能会这么做，”特朗普说，然后问记者普京是否已经宣布停火。

普京去年宣布了一项类似的停火协议，该协议持续了三天，但并未得到基辅方面的同意。

特朗普曾多次发表对普京的正面评论，并严厉批评乌克兰总统泽连斯基拒绝与俄罗斯达成结束战争的协议。

帮助伊朗解决铀矿问题

特朗普说，普京提出在伊朗浓缩铀问题上提供帮助，这是结束伊朗战争协议的一个关键障碍，但“我说我更希望你参与结束与乌克兰的战争”。

特朗普说：“我说过，在你们帮助我之前，我想先结束你们的战争。”

克里姆林宫助手尤里·乌沙科夫没有透露普京对伊朗提出了哪些提议。莫斯科此前曾提出将浓缩铀运出伊朗。

乌沙科夫告诉记者，普京提议在乌克兰暂时停火，以便5月9日庆祝苏联在二战中击败纳粹德国。他说，特朗普对此反应积极。

乌沙科夫补充说，特朗普在长达一个半小时的友好而务实的谈话中表示，他相信结束乌克兰战争的协议即将达成。