Trump, Putin talk of war and peace as US weighs easing Russian oil sanctions
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US President Donald Trump (right) described his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "very good".
PHOTO: REUTERS
FLORIDA – US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed on March 9 the war in Iran and prospects for peace in Ukraine, just hours after the Kremlin chief warned that a global energy crisis threatened the world economy.
The US and Israeli attack on Iran
The Kremlin said Mr Trump called Mr Putin in the leaders’ first telephone call in 2026, and they discussed Russian ideas for a speedy end to the conflict in Iran, the military situation in Ukraine and the impact of Venezuela on the global oil market.
“I had a very good call with President Putin,” Mr Trump told a press conference at his Florida golf club, adding that Mr Putin wanted to be helpful on Iran.
“I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with. That will be more helpful.’”
The call came within hours of Mr Putin’s remarks that the US-Israeli war on Iran had triggered a global energy crisis, while cautioning that oil production dependent on transport through the Strait of Hormuz could soon come to a halt.
Mr Putin said Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holder of its biggest natural gas reserves, was ready to work again with European customers if they wanted to return to long-term cooperation.
Amid the turmoil on global energy markets, Mr Trump’s administration is considering reducing oil sanctions on Russia, according to three sources familiar with the planning.
The move would be intended to boost world supplies of oil following massive disruptions to Middle East shipments from the expanding conflict, but could also complicate US efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine.
Talks could cover broad sanctions relief as well as more targeted options for certain countries, such as India, to buy Russian oil without fear of US penalties, including tariffs, the sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We’re also waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices. So we have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Mr Trump told reporters, without identifying the countries.
“Then who knows, maybe we won’t have to put them on; there’ll be so much peace. But when the time comes, the US Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait if needed.”
Last week, the US allowed India to temporarily buy Russian crude oil already on tankers at sea to help it cope with the cuts to Middle East supply.
On March 6, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US could free more Russian oil from sanctions.
Russia’s special presidential envoy on investment, Mr Kirill Dmitriev, said on March 7 that he was discussing the issue with Washington.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said the discussion with Mr Trump was “very substantial” and “likely to have practical significance for further work between the two countries”.
Mr Ushakov said Mr Trump believed it was in the US interest to see a “rapid end to the conflict in Ukraine with a ceasefire and a long-term settlement”. REUTERS
