Trump responded to Putin's proposal with refusal

US President Donald Trump stated that on June 17 he spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

He said this to journalists, with Fox News broadcasting the statement.

According to the White House head, Putin offered to act as a mediator to resolve the Iran-Israel conflict.

"He actually offered help in mediation. And I said: do me a favor, act as a mediator at home first. Let's sort out Russia first, and you can worry about this later," the US president stated.

At the same time, Trump expressed the opinion that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will eventually be resolved. "I think that will work out too," he said and noted that "so many people have died."

The last conversation between the two presidents that was officially reported took place on June 14 - on the American leader's birthday. At that time, they discussed the escalation in the Middle East for the first time.