Donald Trump says he rejected Vladimir Putin’s offer to help with the Iran-Israel conflict, retorting that he instead needed help dealing with the Russian president’s own actions.
The US president told reporters Putin phoned him ahead of the temporary ceasefire deal between the warring nations and asked if he needed any assistance.
“I said, ‘No, I don’t need help with Iran, I need help with you’,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One to head to the NATO summit in the Netherlands.
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“I hope we are going to be getting a deal done with Russia”.
It’s unclear if Putin’s call came before or after the US strike on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
Leaders are expected to discuss continued support for Ukraine amid Russian aggression during the NATO summit this year, the first meeting of which Trump will join since beginning his second term in January.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump during the two-day summit in The Hague.
Trump skipped an anticipated meeting with Zelenskyy after departing the G7 summit in Canada early, leaving both the Ukrainian president and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the lurch.
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At least 17 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in Russia’s latest air strikes on south-east Ukraine on Tuesday.
The attack took place as Zelenskyy arrived in the Netherlands for the NATO meeting.
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