Agreeing to partner in the fight against terrorism and the Arab-Israeli conflict and to forge stronger economic and political ties between their two countries, the Kremlin said.
At a moment of badly strained relations between the United States and Russia, Trump has hoped to cultivate ”a great relationship" with Putin despite domestic pressures to maintain sanctions against Moscow.
His conversation with Putin comes during a period of tension for the two countries brought by Russia's role in the Ukrainian crisis and the war in Syria, as well as the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Putin ordered systematic hacking of Democratic emails to tip the presidential election in Trump's favor have strained
The leaders agreed to have their staffs determine a possible time and place for their first meeting, the Kremlin said.
”The current international issues were thoroughly discussed, including the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the sphere of strategic stability and non-proliferation, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula," the Kremlin said in a statement. ”Also touched upon were the main aspects of the crisis in Ukraine. It was agreed to establish a partnership on all these and other areas."
Trump began the day with a call to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss security and trade issues between the two countries and the mutual threat posed by North Korea.
”President Trump affirmed the iron-clad U.S. commitment to ensuring the security of Japan," a White House statement said. It continued, ”President Trump and Prime Minister Abe said they would consult and cooperate on the threat posed by North Korea."
Trump then spoke by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. His outreach to Merkel comes after his repeated attacks on her during the campaign, during which he blasted the German policy on admitting Syrian refugees for allegedly putting German citizens in danger of terrorist attacks.
”Both leaders affirmed the importance of close German-American cooperation to our countries' security and prosperity and expressed their desire to deepen already close German-American relations in the coming years," said a White House statement.
After criticizing NATO during his campaign, Trump and Merkel agreed on the alliance's ”fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of our North Atlantic community," the statement read.
Ahead of the call, French President François Hollande spoke out against comments Trump made about the European Union on at the White House Friday during his joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Speaking from Lisbon, Hollande said: ”When there are statements that come from the president of the United States on Europe and when he talks of the Brexit model for other countries, I believe we have to answer him."
Hollande insisted that Europe engage Trump in ”dialogue with firmness."
