Kremlin: President Trump, Russian President Putin Discuss Economics, Middle East Conflict

ABOVE VIDEO: Weekly Address by President Donald Trump.

(ABC NEWS) – President Donald Trump spent his Saturday holding a series of phone calls with world leaders, including a much-anticipated phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The president’s call with Putin on Saturday afternoon came a day after Trump said in a press conference that it was too “early” to decide whether to remove U.S. sanctions against Russia, though he also said, as he has previously, that it would be beneficial for the U.S. and Russia to have a friendlier relationship. Trump faces pressure from within his own party against lifting the sanctions.

According to a readout from the Kremlin after Saturday’s call, Trump and Putin’s conversation “underlined the importance of restoring mutually profitable trade and economic connections between the business circles of the two countries.”

The Kremlin also said Trump and Putin discussed many international issues, including the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, nuclear non-proliferation, the Iran nuclear program and North Korea. It says they also discussed the Ukraine crisis.

“Both sides demonstrated a disposition towards active joint work for the stabilization and development of Russian-American collaboration on a constructive, equal and mutually beneficial basis,” the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin further indicated that the two leaders agreed on a need to “unify efforts” against the “destruction of ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON ABC NEWS

Similar Stories