Washington and Moscow are talking again. After a month and a half of silence, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation lasting an hour and a half, discussing Iran and Ukraine , two increasingly intertwined issues.

The initiative was taken by the Kremlin and comes a few days after the meeting in St. Petersburg between the Russian president and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Putin praised what he called Trump's "wise decision" to extend the ceasefire, which could help "stabilize the situation" in the Middle East and "give a chance to negotiations," which currently appear to be at a complete standstill.

The tsar, reaffirming Moscow's willingness to mediate for peace, then offered Washington ideas and suggestions on how to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, drawing on his recent meeting with Araghchi and the message he received from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week. And at a time when tensions between Washington and Tehran appear to be rising again, Putin once again made it clear to the US president that "conducting a ground operation in Iran would be unacceptable and dangerous" and would entail "very serious consequences for the entire international community."

The tsar then declared himself ready for a truce with Kiev for Victory Day, May 9, with Trump insisting that an agreement on Ukraine is close. So far, however, no clearing appears on the horizon on either the Ukrainian or Iranian fronts. In the latter case, Trump appears unwilling to give up: he wants to corner Iran and force it to capitulate. After rejecting the offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the president confirmed that he will maintain the blockade for as long as necessary. And if Tehran doesn't give in, plans are already being prepared—Axios reports—for a "short, powerful" wave of attacks in the hope of breaking the stalemate in negotiations.

(Unioneonline)

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