Kremlin Says Putin Called Trump to Congratulate Him on His 80th Birthday

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump and congratulated him on his 80th birthday. The announcement came from the Kremlin after the call, with Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov providing details about the conversation.

According to Ushakov, Trump said during the call that negotiations on an agreement with Iran were at an advanced stage, and that the details of the deal could be made public as soon as later in the day. The Kremlin also said Putin expressed satisfaction with what he called success in containing escalation, and said a confrontation that could have led to a broad regional flare-up was avoided.

The Kremlin said this was the 13th conversation between the two leaders over the past year and a half, and their first in 46 days.