WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday in a conversation lasting more than 90 minutes, discussing the war in Iran and a potential temporary ceasefire in Ukraine. The two leaders also addressed the handling of Iran's uranium and the broader trajectory of both conflicts.

"I had a long talk with President Putin," Trump said. "We had a very good conversation, I've known him a long time."

Trump said he raised the possibility of a pause in the fighting in Ukraine. "I suggested a little bit of a ceasefire and I think he might do that. He might announce something having to do with it," he said. According to Russian state news agency TASS, Putin told Trump he was ready to declare a ceasefire for Victory Day, a Russian holiday on May 9.

According to Putin's foreign policy adviser, the Russian president told Trump that Moscow viewed the prospect of a U.S. ground operation in Iran as dangerous, and welcomed Trump's decision to extend a ceasefire in the region.

The U.S. president said Putin offered to assist in handling Iran's buried uranium by taking it to Russia. He indicated he would prefer the Russian leader focus on the conflict in Ukraine, saying he preferred for Putin to be "involved with ending the war in Ukraine."

During the call, Putin told Trump that Russian forces retained the initiative and were pushing back Ukrainian positions. Putin has signalled he is prepared to continue fighting until Ukraine cedes territory Russia currently controls in the Donbas, a condition Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected. Russia has largely been sidelined in diplomacy over the war in Iran.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. Ukrainian long-range drones continue to strike Russian territory almost daily, targeting industrial and military sites, including oil infrastructure and logistics hubs, at times triggering large fires and prompting civilian evacuations. Ukraine has remained sceptical of short-term ceasefire proposals from Russia, accusing Russia of using such pauses to regroup and prepare further attacks.