Trump Thanks Xi Jinping and Putin for Neutrality During Iran War
United States President Donald Trump has thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for what he described as their neutrality during the war with Iran. “I just want to thank them because they made things a lot better,” Trump said at a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 (Group of Seven) conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, as reported by Reuters on Thursday (18/6/2026). Trump added that both leaders had been “neutral.”
The Iran-US peace plan has now entered a new chapter after the presidents of both countries signed a peace agreement document to end the war. Trump signed the memorandum of understanding during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles following the G7 summit meeting on Wednesday (17/6) evening local time. “Just signed it,” Trump said as he left the palace, AFP reported on Thursday (18/6/2026).
Separately, the Iranian government also confirmed it had signed the agreement document to end the war with the US. “The text of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has been finalised with the signatures of the presidents – now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, as quoted by the state news agency IRNA. He said the signing was done electronically and remotely by both presidents, and that an official ceremony “does not have much place” in Iran’s plan.
The Swiss government had previously said a signing ceremony would be held on Friday (19/6) at a luxury mountain hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice President JD Vance in attendance. “When the text is signed by the highest officials of both countries, violating it will certainly incur greater costs, and given our experience, we prefer this to happen,” Baqaei said. The text of the agreement was released on Wednesday (17/6) by both sides. A two-month negotiation period will follow, with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as the first step.