Donald Trump revealed on board Air Force One that after Vladimir Putin offered to help him with Iran, he told the Russian president that he actually needed help dealing with him instead
Donald Trump had a scathing five-word response to Vladimir Putin after the Russian president offered to help him with Iran.
The US president spoke to reporters while on the way to the NATO summit in The Hague – and stressed he would like to see a deal with Russia. Trump also revealed that during a call with the Russian leader, Putin offered him to help solve the conflict between Israel and Iran – to which he responded “I need help with you.”
Trump said he told his Russian counterpart: “I don’t need help with Iran, I need help with you.” He made the comments after a journalist asked him: “If there’s language in the final Summit declaration about aggression by Russia would you be ok with that kind of language?”
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“Well, I’ll have to take a look at it, but I’d like to see a deal with Russia,” Trump said. “As you know Vladimir called me up, he said can I help you with Iran?
“I said I don’t need help with Iran, I need help with you. And I hope we’re going to be getting a deal done with Russia, it’s a shame, 6,000 soldiers died last week, more, 6,500, last week, Russia-Ukraine, a war that never would have happened if I was President.”
On Sunday, after Trump’s decided to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, the Russian foreign ministry branded his decision “irresponsible” and said it “strongly” condemned it. Three nuclear sites in Iran were bombed by US forces overnight between Saturday and Sunday, with missiles dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, as well as the country’s Natanz and Isfahan locations. Trump said the key nuclear sites had been “completely and fully obliterated” as a result of the attacks.
Responding directly to the attacks, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday: “The consequences of this action, including radiological ones, have yet to be assessed. But it is already obvious that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security. The risk of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, already engulfed in multiple crises, has increased significantly.”
On Monday, Iran responded to the attacks by attacking the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. After that, Trump called for a ceasefire – and told reporters aboard Air Force One that he is not seeking a regime change in Tehran but wants stability and peace in the region. He also said he is convinced Iran can be “a great trading nation” as they are rich in oil.
Trump’s plane landed in Amsterdam after 7pm local time. He has a number of appearances scheduled for the rest of the evening, including a courtesy call at The Hague with Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife. He is also scheduled to attend a dinner for leaders of NATO’s 32 member countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among Western leaders attending the NATO Summit in the Netherlands – and he is keen to lock in additional military support for Ukraine. Trump confirmed he is planning to meet Zelensky who is seeking guarantees of further help to repel Moscow’s invasion which has been ongoing for over three years.
More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to the United Nations. Ukraine has also launched long-range drones against Russia, hitting residential areas.