Officials Say Trump, Putin Avoided Topic of Sanctions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Officials say the thorny matter of US-imposed sanctions on Russia didn't come up during US President Donald Trump's first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which suggests that the more difficult obstacles to warmer relations between their nations can wait.
Statements from the White House and the Kremlin described the conversation Saturday in positive terms, the same tone used in White House accounts of other calls Trump made to world leaders. Only later did a White House official, responding to a question, acknowledge that sanctions were not among the topics the two leaders discussed.
In the first week of his presidency, Trump has been noncommittal on lifting sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Both descriptions of the call focused on the positive aspects of a new American leader engaging with the Russian president. In a brief statement, the White House said the discussion was "a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair."
The two leaders discussed "a range in topics from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to efforts in working together to achieve more peace throughout the world including Syria," the White House statement said, using an acronym for the terrorist group.
The White House official who spoke after the statement was issued said Putin brought up several times that terrorism was a "common foe" for the US and Russia. The official was not authorized to disclose details of the call by name and insisted on anonymity, AP reported.
Addressing topics not mentioned in the White House statement, the Kremlin said that the two leaders discussed the importance of "restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries."
The Kremlin also said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Palestine-Israeli conflict, Iran's nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.