Evian, June 17, 2026
President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for remaining neutral during the recent conflict with Iran, saying both leaders could have made the situation significantly more difficult for the United States.
At a press conference after the G7 summit in France, Trump said he personally urged Xi not to provide military assistance to Tehran during the conflict and expressed appreciation for Beijing’s response.
“I want to thank China, President Xi,” Trump said.
“I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it.”
Trump said he had spoken directly with the Chinese leader about military equipment that could have strengthened Iran’s defences.
“I had a long talk with him,” Trump said.
“I said, I would really appreciate your not giving or selling any of that stuff to Iran.”
According to Trump, Beijing largely complied with the request.
“For the most part, he didn’t,” Trump said.
The President also singled out Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“And I want to thank Vladimir Putin; he was very neutral,” Trump said.
“They could have made it much more difficult for us.”
Trump’s remarks offered a rare public acknowledgement of cooperation, or at least non-interference, by Washington’s two principal strategic rivals during a major international crisis.
The comments came as Trump defended the agreement reached with Iran and argued that the military campaign had achieved its objectives without triggering a wider regional conflict.
The President said Iran had suffered extensive damage and would require years to rebuild.
“They’ve had much more than $1 trillion worth of damage done,” Trump said.
“They’ll be 15 to 20 years to rebuild what they have right now.”
Trump argued that any future economic benefits for Tehran would depend on its compliance with the agreement.
“They have to behave themselves,” he said. “If they’re not behaving, they get hit again.”
The President also defended provisions allowing the eventual release of frozen Iranian assets, saying the funds belonged to Iran and that permanently confiscating them would undermine confidence in the US financial system.
“We have their money,” Trump said. “It’s not our money, it’s their money.”
“At a certain point in time, I guess we’re going to have to give it back.”
Trump said that retaining foreign assets indefinitely would discourage international confidence in the US dollar.
“If you do that, you really don’t have a system,” he said.
The President rejected criticism that the agreement represented a concession to Tehran, arguing instead that Iran had entered negotiations from a position of weakness following military losses and economic pressure.
“Well, look, here they lost militarily,” Trump said.
He maintained that continued military operations would have risked disruption to global energy markets and commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“If we keep bombing, those ships won’t be going,” Trump said.
The comments highlighted the broader international dimension of the Iran conflict, which raised concerns about possible involvement by major powers, including China and Russia, because of their longstanding political and economic ties with Tehran.(Agency)
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