The call came less than two weeks after Trump and Putin met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic conference in Vietnam.
WASHINGTON – President Trump spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour Tuesday about a range of national security issues, including ways to resolve the Syrian civil war and pressure North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons.
”We had a great call with President Putin,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’re talking about peace in Syria – very important – we’re talking about North Korea. We had a call that lasted almost an hour and a half.”
The call came less than two weeks after Trump and Putin met on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic conference in Da Nang, Vietnam. Those talks were part of an Asia trip in which Trump tried to persuade Russia, China, and other countries to tighten the diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea.
In a readout of their latest phone conversation, the White House said in a statement that Trump and Putin discussed “the need to continue international pressure on North Korea to halt its nuclear weapon and missile programs.”
The presidents also agreed to pursue plans “to peacefully resolve the Syrian civil war, end the humanitarian crisis, allow displaced Syrians to return home, and ensure the stability of a unified Syria free of malign intervention and terrorist safe havens,” the White House statement said.
Prior to the phone call, Putin said he planned to speak with Trump as part of a Russian effort to seek a peace deal in Syria. Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad made a surprise visit to Russia this week for negotiations.
Russia, Iran and Turkey – all of which have backed Assad’s forces – have authored a peace initiatives in an effort to resolve the Syrian civil war that has been raging since 2011.
Putin has also scheduled talks with the leaders of Turkey and Iran to discuss the way forward in Syria.
On the phone call, the U. S. and Russian presidents also discussed Trump’s criticism of the Iranian nuclear deal, unrest in Ukraine, and counter-terrorism efforts in Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
“The two presidents affirmed the importance of fighting terrorism together throughout the Middle East and Central Asia and agreed to explore ways to further cooperate in the fight against ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist organizations,” the White House said.
After chatting with Russia’s leader in Vietnam, Trump made waves by saying he believed Putin was sincere in denying any effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The U. S. intelligence community has said Putin orchestrated a campaign of cyberattacks and fake news to influence the election in favor of Trump. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and congressional committees are investigating both the campaign and possible collusion with Trump associates.
At first, Trump gave the impression he believed Putin more than he believed the U. S. intelligence agencies who have accused Russia of hacking Democrats’ emails and spreading fake news about then-candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump later sought to clarify his views.
“I believe that (Putin) feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election,” Trump said at a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. “As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. I believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies.”
