‘Russia will respond to Ukraine attack’: Donald Trump, Putin talk over phone; Iran’s nuclear deal also discussed

US President Donald Trump revealed that he held a tense phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the recent Ukrainian strike on Russian airfields and growing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.In a post on social media platform X, Trump said the call with Putin lasted “approximately one hour and 15 minutes” and was “a good conversation,” though he admitted it would not “lead to immediate Peace.” The two leaders discussed “various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.”According to Trump, Putin “very strongly” indicated that Russia would respond to Ukraine’s recent airfield attack. The Russian military has accused Kyiv of damaging several docked aircraft in an overnight drone strike on Russian soil, a claim Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied.The call comes just days after Trump gave Putin a blunt two-week deadline to show concrete progress toward ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump warned that unless Russia proves it is serious about peace, “we’ll respond a little bit differently.”Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held a second round of peace talks in Istanbul, their second meeting in just over two weeks. However, Russia refused to agree to an unconditional ceasefire. The talks took place shortly after Ukraine carried out a surprise attack on four Russian airbases spread across the country.Discussing Iran’s nuclear weapon issue he told Putin, “I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”He believed that the Russian leader also agreed over this.“President Putin suggested that he will participate in the discussions with Iran and that he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion,” he said.He further added that the country had been “slowwalking their decision on this very important matter,” and “we will need a definitive answer in a very short period of time!” he said.Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the US proposal for the nuclear agreement was against the country’s national interest.The call came after the US President had earlier issued a stark ultimatum to Putin, giving him a two week deadline to prove his seriousness about ending the war and bringing peace in Ukraine. He also warned that Russia of resorting to a “different” approach had in case Putin had not been genuine about informing the US.