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, i
ncluding ways to resolve the Syrian civil war and pressure North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons.
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. T
hose 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 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 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.
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