Trump congratulates Putin for election victory
On Tuesday, March 20, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and congratulated him on his victory in the presidential election, as reported by the Kremlin press service.
It was noted that the call was initiated by the American president.
The heads of state spoke about cooperating to ensure strategic stability and combat international terrorism, and also noted the need for coordinated efforts to limit the arms race.
The leaders of the countries noted the need to resolve both the situation in Syria and the conflict in Ukraine, and also spoke positively about reducing the tension around North Korea. According to the Kremlin, they gave special attention to a possible summit meeting.
Trump, commenting on the conversation when speaking with reporters during a meeting with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, called it “very good.”
He also said that he may meet with the Russian president in the near future. According to him, the leaders would specifically discuss the arms race, which has “gotten out of control.”
“You know, he [Putin] said that being involved in an arms race isn’t a good thing. We’re spending more than seven hundred billion [dollars] on arms this year. We continue to fortify and strengthen our countries more than any other, and [we] will not allow anyone to even get close to what we have,” said Trump.
The American president also said that during this meeting he would like to discuss with Putin “Ukraine, Syria, North Korea, and many other things.”
The White House noted that there are no specific plans for a meeting between the two leaders.
The presidential election took place in Russia on March 18. Eight candidates participated in the election, including the current head of state. Putin won the election, getting more than 76% of the vote.