Trump Advised Putin to First "Mediate" Russia's War, Not the Middle East The U.S. President stated that he spoke with Putin yesterday, although there were no official reports of their conversation. "I spoke with him yesterday and said… He actually offered to help with mediation. I replied: do me a favor — start mediating at home first… I said: Vladimir, let’s first deal with mediation concerning Russia, and you can take care of the (Middle East) later," Trump said.