United News of Bangladesh

US President Donald Trump said that he had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday over the tensions in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine peace talks and both of them agreed that "this war in Israel-Iran should end." "He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding that Putin knows Iran "very well." Saturday was Trump's 79th birthday. Trump said that Putin wished him a happy birthday during the phone call, reports Xinhua. Trump said he also explained to the Russian president that the Russia-Ukraine conflict "should also end" during the one-hour call. Israel and Iran exchange strikes for a third consecutive day as Nuclear talks collapse "We talked at length. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week." "He (Putin) is doing the planned prisoner swaps -- large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides," said Trump.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show for anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey this week. Trump had pressed for Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul on Thursday. He brushed off Putin’s decision to not take part in the expected talks, reports AP. “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters as he took part in a business roundtable with executives in Doha on the third day of his visit to the Middle East. Trump earlier this week floated potentially attending himself. The US president, however, noted on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already in the country for meetings with NATO counterparts. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, also plans to be in Istanbul on Friday for the anticipated Russia-Ukraine talks. The push for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin comes amid a flurry of negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Putin was first to propose restarting direct peace talks Thursday with Ukraine in the Turkish city that straddles Asia and Europe. Zelenskyy challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in Turkey in person. Trump marvels at wealth of his Arab hosts while he eyes White House and Air Force One upgrades But the Kremlin has said its delegation at the talks will be led by Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, and include three other officials. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskyy will only sit down with the Russian leader. Later Thursday, Trump will visit a US installation in Qatar at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. He has used his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region. Trump will address troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the recent US air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program. Before addressing the troops, Trump took part in a roundtable with business leaders. The group included top executives from Boeing, GE Aerospace and Al Rabban Capital.