Trump, Putin hold first talk by phone
Both push for ‘mutually beneficial economic ties’
WASHINGTON — Will President Donald Trump usher in a new era for U.S.-Russian relations, or are the two powers going to continue down the path as geopolitical foes?
Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin has held his first conversation with America’s newly inaugurated leader, attention turns to the fate of U.S. sanctions against Moscow and whether the two will look to enhance military cooperation against the Islamic State group.
Trump was noncommittal about whether he was considering lifting the economic sanctions ahead of the call, telling reporters Friday, “We’ll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that.”
While the White House has yet to comment on Saturday’s phone call, the Kremlin released a statement hinting that the two men discussed the sanctions, implemented by the Obama administration as a consequence of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
The two leaders emphasized the importance of “restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business circles of the two countries, which could additionally stimulate the incremental and sustainable development of the bilateral relationship,” the Kremlin said.
Putin and Trump will also maintain “regular personal contact” and will begin preparations for a face-to-face meeting.
The Kremlin has applauded Trump’s promises to rebuild U.S.-Russian relations, which have been pushed to their worst level since the Cold War by the Ukraine crisis, war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
The Kremlin said that Putin and Trump spoke in particular about international issues, including the fight against terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conf lict, Iran’s nuclear program, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Ukraine crisis.
“The presidents spoke out in favor of the establishment of real coordination of Russian and American actions with the aim of destroying the Islamic State,” according to the statement. In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region and backed separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine.
In response, sanctions were implemented against sectors of Russia’s economy, including financial services.