Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a lengthy call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine.
Trump in a posting on his Truth Social platform said they spent the bulk of their conversation focused on Israel’s ongoing blistering attacks aimed at decapitating Iran’s nuclear program and Iran’s retaliatory strikes. But Trump said that he also pressed Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
“He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” said Trump, who added the conversation went about an hour.
Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” Ushakov told reporters. He added that Putin raised concerns that escalating conflict between Israel and Iran threatened “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”
Putin also emphasized Russia’s readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts, and noted that Russia had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during U.S.-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to U.S. intelligence findings.
“Russia’s principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,” Ushakov said.
Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming,” Ushakov said, but acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran.
The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff had been set to travel on Sunday to Oman for a sixth round of talks with Iranian officials aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program — a meeting that was set before Israel launched strikes on Friday. But Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said on Saturday that the meeting would not take place as planned.
Putin and Trump also discussed the ongoing exchange of war prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. The two sides traded more prisoners on Saturday under an arrangement brokered during talks between the two sides in Istanbul earlier this month.
“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.
Trump said Putin also wished him “a Happy Birthday.” The U.S. leader turned 79 on Saturday.
Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with participants of the Time of Heroes, an educational program for veterans of special military operation, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Sergei Bulkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
