Russian President Vladimir Putin held a "frank and businesslike" phone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, Russian Presidential Aide for International Affairs Yury Ushakov said.
During the conversation that lasted an hour and a half, the leaders discussed, among other things, Russia’s readiness to declare the Victory Day ceasefire and the situation in Iran. They also agreed to stay in touch, including personal conversations and talks at the level of aides and envoys.
Putin conveyed words of support to his American counterpart over his most recent assassination attempt, strongly condemning the crime, "emphasizing the unacceptability of any form of politically motivated violence."
Ushakov added that the date of the crime was emphasized in the conversation. The assassination attempt was carried out on the eve of the birthday of the American president's wife Melania Trump, who was born on April 26, 1970.
Putin told the U.S. President that he is ready to declare a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.
"Trump actively supported the initiative, saying that this holiday marks our joint victory over Nazism in World War Two," Ushakov said.
In his words, the U.S. leader "spoke positively of the Easter ceasefire, recently announced by Russia."
The two leaders also paid special attention to the situation in Iran and in the Persian Gulf.
"Vladimir Putin considers Donald Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran to be the right one, as it should give negotiations a chance and help stabilize the situation in general," Ushakov said.
Ushakov noted that, overall, "among the issues on the international agenda, the presidents focused primarily on the situation in Iran and the Persian Gulf."
The presidents of Russia and the United States also talked about prospects of mutually beneficial projects in the economy and the energy sector.
"When Russian-U.S. relations were discussed, huge prospects of mutually beneficial projects in the economy and the energy segment were stated from both sides. The whole range of large-scale initiatives in the economy, as the presidents noted, has already been discussed specifically between representatives of our nations," Ushakov said.
