US President Donald Trump on Wednesday strongly rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to mediate peace talks between Israel and Iran, saying Putin could take on the role once he ends his own war in Ukraine, TASR reported, citing an AFP report.

“(Putin) actually offered to help mediate (the talks), so I said, ‘Do me a favor and mediate yours first.’ Let’s mediate Russia first, okay?” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first, you can worry about that later,’” the US president stressed.

Putin's offer rejected

Trump said on Sunday that he was open to Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator between the two countries."He's ready. That's why he called me. We talked about it for a long time," Trump said at the time.

Israel launched military operations against Iran on Friday, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes. Russia is a close ally of Iran and the two countries have also strengthened military ties. However, according to AFP, Russia is also interested in establishing good relations with Israel.