Trump to Putin: Can Help in Mideast by Ending Ukraine War

President Donald Trump said Monday he had a productive phone call with Vladimir Putin and told the Russian leader he could help ease tensions in the Middle East "by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with."

Trump also told reporters at a news conference in Doral, Florida, about easing oil sanctions on some countries to counter a spike in gasoline prices and how the U.S. Navy could escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes.

"I had a very good call with President Putin," Trump said in remarks that aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming channel. Trump spoke to reporters after delivering a speech to House Republicans at their annual caucus retreat.

"We had a lot of people on the line from our side, from his side," Trump said of the call with Putin. "We were talking about Ukraine, which is just a never-ending fight.

"Look, there's tremendous hatred between President Putin and President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. They can't seem to get it together. But I think it was a positive call on that subject.

"And we obviously talked about the Middle East. And he wants to be helpful. I said, 'You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine-Russia war over with.' That would be more helpful. But we had a very good talk, and he wants to be very constructive."

Putin said earlier Monday that Russia would supply oil and gas to European buyers, provided such cooperation was "long-term" and did not put political pressure on Moscow, The Moscow Times reported.

The European Union banned maritime imports of Russian crude in 2022 because of the war in Ukraine, and Russia's pipeline exports to Hungary and Slovakia have been largely halted since January after damage to the Druzhba oil pipeline blamed on Ukraine.

Trump also said the U.S. is "waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices." He reportedly is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices.

The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly surged to $119.50 a barrel Monday, its highest level since mid-2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. But prices fell below $90 late Monday as markets reversed sharply after Trump told CBS News that Operation Epic Fury is largely "very complete."

"So, we have sanctions on some countries. We're going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out," Trump said without providing further details. "Then who knows? Maybe we won't have to put them on. There'll be so much peace."

Trump earlier Monday said he was "thinking about taking over" the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route for oil tankers, as Iran threatened vessels passing through.

"I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the global oil supply," Trump said. "And if Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level.

"I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before, will take them out so quickly they'll never be able to recover, ever. If they want to play that game, they better not play that game.

"In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles, nuclear menace or anything.

"So, the Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. … When the time comes, the U.S. Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait if needed.

"I hope it's not going to be needed, but if it's needed, we'll escort them right through.

"In recent years, the regime and its terror proxies have launched attacks on hundreds of commercial vessels. We're putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil and gas prices for American families."

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