President Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for more than an hour on Tuesday about issues ranging from terrorism to Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.
The two leaders stressed the need “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 said.
Trump’s phone call with Putin came shortly after Syrian President Bashar Assad visited Russia. Trump and his top aides have frequently criticized Russia for its continued support of the Assad regime in the face of chemical weapons attacks on civilians.
Trump and Putin spoke at length about combating terrorism in the region.
“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.
Although the White House made no mention of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 election, Trump and Putin appeared to have discussed another issue that has caused friction between Moscow and Washington: Ukraine.
“President Trump and President Putin also discussed how to implement a lasting peace in Ukraine, and the need to continue international pressure on North Korea to halt its nuclear weapon and missile programs,” the White House added.
Trump and Putin met briefly during a trade summit in Vietnam earlier this month. However, their conversation was informal and social, and yielded little progress on efforts to persuade Russia to crack down more aggressively on North Korea.
