President Vladimir Putin had a phone call with President Donald Trump on March 9, according to information released to the press by Kremlin Assistant Yury Ushakov.
According to Mr. Ushakov, it was the US President who initiated the phone call to exchange views on the latest international developments. The exchange focused on two major issues: the conflict between the US and Iran, and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Kremlin aide said the dialogue between the two leaders took place in a "substantial, open and constructive" atmosphere. The two sides also expressed their willingness to continue to maintain regular communication channels in the coming time.
Deep exchange on the Ukraine conflict
According to Mr. Ushakov, in the exchange, President Trump reaffirmed that Washington wants to end hostilities between Moscow and Kiev, and at the same time reach a long-term solution to the conflict.
On the Russian side, President Putin thanked the US administration for recent mediation efforts to find a solution to the crisis.
Trilateral discussions between Moscow, Washington and Kiev are also mentioned as one of the channels of dialogue to find a way out of the prolonged conflict in Ukraine.
President Trump described this as "a very good phone call" when answering reporters in Washington. He said the two leaders discussed both the war in Iran and the conflict he called "the seemingly endless war" in Ukraine.
Iran and the risk of global energy shock
Another important content of the phone call was the situation in the Middle East, especially the conflict related to Iran.
President Putin shared with his US counterpart his assessments of the developments of the war, and also informed about his recent exchanges with leaders of Gulf countries and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to Mr. Ushakov, President Trump also gave his views on the situation and the two leaders had a "very substantive" discussion on this issue.
Earlier in the day, President Putin warned that escalating conflict in the Middle East could seriously disrupt global oil and gas flows.
He especially emphasized the risk from the fact that the important oil transport route through the Strait of Hormuz is almost closed in reality. This is one of the strategic shipping routes that transports most of the exported oil from the Gulf region.
According to the Russian leader, if tensions continue to escalate, oil production in the Gulf countries could be disrupted, leading to a "completely new oil price reality" in the global energy market.
In that context, Mr. Putin affirmed that Russia will still be a "credible energy supplier" to partners that Moscow considers reliable, and pledged to continue to supply oil and gas.
Russia criticizes Iran offensive campaign
Russia has also strongly criticized the US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran, saying that this is "pre-arranged and unreasonable act of aggression".
However, President Putin has not given a comprehensive public assessment of the entire military campaign. He only condemned the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as "a blatant violation of ethical norms and international law".
