The phone call today between presidents Trump and Putin

Washington Post, Jan 28; Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role:

Trump and Putin spoke for one hour and vowed to join forces to fight terrorism in Syria and elsewhere, according to the White House and the Kremlin, signaling a potential shift in U.S.-Russian relations that have been marked by high tension.

RT, Jan 28-29; Putin & Trump signal new Russia-US partnership with 1st phone call on ISIS, trade & Ukraine:

In their first phone conversation that lasted nearly an hour, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the new US President Donald Trump have outlined their intent to cooperate on issues ranging from defeating Islamic State to mending bilateral economic ties.

“Both sides expressed their readiness to make active joint efforts to stabilize and develop Russia-US cooperation on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis,” as well as “build up partner cooperation” on a wide range of international issues, according to a Kremlin statement following their discussion.

The White House said that the “positive” conversation was “a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair.”

“Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today’s call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern,” the White House statement added.

“The Presidents have spoken in favor of establishing a real coordination between the US and Russian actions in order to defeat ISIS and other terrorist organizations in Syria,” the Kremlin statement said.

The two leaders also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as Iran’s nuclear program. “Major aspects of the Ukrainian crisis have been also touched upon,” the Kremlin announced.

The leaders of Russia and the US have noted a need to restore economic ties “to stimulate” further development of the relationship between the nations.
Putin and Trump also agreed to initiate a process to “work out possible dates and venue of their personal meeting.”

During the conversation the Presidents also expressed their desire to “maintain regular personal contacts,” the Kremlin statement said.

The Kremlin said the US President asked his Russian counterpart “to wish the Russian people happiness and prosperity” on his behalf, adding Americans “have warm feelings towards Russia and its citizens.” Putin said the feeling was “mutual,” stressing that historically, the Russians and the Americans were close allies on more than one occasion.

Putin said “for over two centuries Russia has supported the United States, was its ally during the two world wars, and now sees the United States as a major partner in fighting international terrorism.”

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