Trump and Putin discuss 'working together to resolve' North Korea nuclear crisis
Phone call comes on same day as Russian leader's annual news conference
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Thursday evening about the threat posed by North Korea.
A White House statement said the world leaders "discussed working together to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea".
The Kremlin said in a statement that Mr Trump and Mr Putin discussed bilateral relations and the situation in the Korean Peninsula.
The White House also said Mr Trump thanked his Russian counterpart for "acknowledging America's strong economic performance" during his annual news conference.
At that event, the Russian President said the US was only hurting itself by investigating alleged collusion between Mr Trump's campaign and Moscow.
He claimed concerns about collusion were "invented by people who oppose President Trump to undermine his legitimacy" and demonstrated a "lack of respect to voters who cast their ballots for him".
Mr Putin said the countries should be cooperating to tackle the North Korean standoff, but warned the US not to use force against Pyongyang.
At a Q&A with international media lasting almost four hours, the Russian leader said he and Mr Trump had spoken on a first-name basis on the sidelines of two international summits this year, and he voiced hope that the US President would eventually be able to fulfil his campaign promises to improve ties with Russia.
"I hope that he would gradually have opportunities to establish contacts with Russia," he said.
Mr Putin emphasised the need to cooperate on tackling global challenges and said Russia was ready for "constructive" cooperation on tackling the North Korean standoff.
He warned that using force against North Korea would be "catastrophic" and suggested the US had "provoked" the North into developing its nuclear and missile programmes.
Mr Putin said Moscow was encouraged by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's statement about readiness for talks with Pyongyang, hailing it as a "realistic" approach.
Additional reporting agencies
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments