Moscow, March 10 US President Donald Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin late Monday night amid global energy disruption caused by American and Israeli strikes on Iran, leading to the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, the two leaders discussed the conflicts between the US and Iran, and between Russia and Ukraine, during a one-hour telephone conversation.
"The conversation focused on the Iran conflict and the trilateral talks between Moscow, Washington, and Kyiv aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict. The dialogue between the two presidents was business-like, open, and constructive," Ushakov said.
Briefing Kremlin pool reporters shortly before midnight, Ushakov said President Putin also shared his thoughts on the ongoing conflict in Iran and briefed Trump on his conversations with the leaders of the Gulf states and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last week.
"Trump, in turn, expressed his opinion about the situation. They had a very substantive discussion on the issue," Ushakov said.
This was the 11th phone conversation between Putin and Trump, and the first this year. Ushakov noted that they last spoke in December.
Trump called Putin hours after the Russian president convened a top meeting of energy officials and announced that Moscow was a reliable partner for its friendly countries (India and China) and was ready to resume supplies to the European Union on a long-term basis if they were willing to lift sanctions.
Putin warned that continued conflict in West Asia risks seriously disrupting global oil and gas flows, particularly given the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key seaborne route.
In his televised meeting in the Kremlin on Monday evening, Putin, who found himself in the driver’s seat amid the global energy supply disruption, warned that the conflict could lead to a halt in Gulf oil production and a new price reality.
"Moscow remains a reliable energy supplier. It will continue to provide oil and gas to the nations it sees as reliable partners," Putin said.
According to local media reports, Washington could lift some of the sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons to ease the situation, as consumers in the US and Europe are already feeling the pinch.
Noting Washington's 30-day waiver to India to buy Russian seaborne oil, leading business broadsheet Kommersant Daily on Tuesday said India could double its oil purchases from Russia thanks to a US license.
"Russia could nearly double its oil supplies to India after the US granted licenses to Indian refineries to purchase crude shipped by tankers. India is seeking additional volumes due to supply disruptions from the Middle East, and discounts on Russian crude have already turned into premiums," the daily writes, quoting analysts.