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https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2045977/putin-and-trump-speak-phone-and-aim-cooperation United States & Canada
Putin phones Trump and they agree to fight terrorism and ‘normalise’ relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump spoke over the phone Monday to discuss future efforts to improve the U.S.-Russian ties, the Kremlin and Trump’s office said.
“President-elect Trump noted to President Putin that he is very much looking forward to having a strong and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia,” Trump’s office said in a statement.
The Kremlin, in a far more specific and longer readout, said that Putin congratulated Trump on his victory and expressed Russia’s readiness to “establish a partner-like dialogue with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in domestic relations.”
Trump’s office said that Putin called him to “offer his congratulations on winning a historic election.”
“During the call, the two leaders discussed a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical US-Russia relationship that dates back over 200 years,” it said.
In its readout, the Kremlin added that both Putin and Trump agreed that the US-Russian ties are in “extremely unsatisfactory” condition now.
“They spoke for active joint work to normalise ties and engage in constructive co-operation on a broad range of issues,” it said, adding that Putin and Trump emphasised the need to develop trade and economic co-operation to give a strong basis to US-Russia relations.
A journalist points at a portrait of US President-elect Donald Trump, with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin at right, during a live telecast of the US presidential election in the Union Jack pub in Moscow. Photo: AP
It said that Putin and Trump agreed to continue phone contacts and to plan a personal meeting in the future.
Trump’s statement Monday said he looked forward to a “strong and enduring relationship” with Russia. During the campaign, he outlined few specifics as to how he would go about it. President Barack Obama began his presidency with a goal to “reset” ties with Russia, but they eventually plunged to the lowest point since the Cold War over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. 
A woman walks past a graffiti artwork depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin US President-elect Donald Trump kissing, in Vilnius, Lithuania. Photo: AP
Throughout the campaign, the Kremlin insisted that it had no favourites and rejected the claims of interference in the US election. Russia’s state-controlled media, however, made no secret of their sympathy for Trump.
Putin had praised Trump as a “colourful” personality during the election campaign and welcomed his pledge to improve the relationship with Moscow. Trump has said he’s willing to work with Putin on fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Trump previously said he’d consider recognizing Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea as well as lifting sanctions the US and European Union imposed over the annexation and Russia’s clandestine military intervention in eastern Ukraine.
Giving Putin a pass on those issues would directly counter the Obama administration’s Russia policy, which has sought an international war crimes investigation of Russia’s actions in Syria.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and The Washington Post