Trump, Putin in first formal phone call agree to cooperate in fight against terrorism

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged cooperation in fighting the Islamic State, the two sides said, as the pair seek to reverse tension after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its support for Syria,and allegations that Russian hackers sought to sway the US election.

“The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair,” the White House said in a statement.

Putin told Trump he “sees the US as a most important partner in the fight against international terrorism,” according to a readout of the call from the Kremlin that described the conversation as “positive and businesslike”

The conversation, one of several Trump held with world leaders on Saturday, was the among the first formal steps in his effort to reset relations with the Kremlin, which soured under the Obama administration after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in his fight against rebel groups. Trump’s critics have questioned the wisdom of his calls for better ties with Putin, especially in light of the US intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia hacked e-mails of the Democratic National Committee in a bid to swing the November election in Trump’s favour.

Trump has said he would consider easing financial penalties imposed by the US over the annexation of Crimea in 2014 in exchange for Russia’s support on a nuclear weapons deal or fighting terror groups like the Islamic State. Critics have argued that Russia’s support of Assad has nothing to do with Islamic State fighters based there, pointing to the fact that its air war has focused on rebels around Aleppo not affiliated with the group.

US Vice President Mike Pence participated in the call with Putin along with senior counsellor Stephen Bannon, chief of staff Reince Priebus, national security adviser Michael Flynn and press secretary Sean Spicer. The White House said the call lasted about an hour.

“In the course of the conversation, both sides demonstrated a desire for active joint efforts to stabilise and develop Russia-American relations on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis,” the Kremlin said.

“The importance was underlined of restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties between business on both sides.”

There was no mention in either readout of the wide-ranging US sanctions targeting Russia’s banking, energy, and defence sectors. Some were imposed via executive order by former President Barack Obama, which Trump has the power to undo quickly.

Trump downplayed the possibility of sanctions relief during a press conference on Friday, saying, “We’ll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that.”

Also Saturday, Trump spoke with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, French Prime Minister Francois Hollande, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hollande said the sanctions on Russia must only be lifted if progress is made on the Minsk agreement aimed at bringing peace to Ukraine, according to his office.

He told Trump that “the defense of democracies requires observing fundamental principles and among these are welcoming refugees,” a criticism of the president’s executive order, signed Friday, that suspended refugee admissions and put a 90-day ban on admissions of immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations including Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Hollande also warned Trump of the “economic and political consequences” of protectionism, according to his office, as the U.S. president looks to renegotiate trade agreements and potentially put a tax on imports.

In the call with Merkel, Trump agreed on the importance of the NATO alliance and the need for allies to contribute their fair share, according to readouts from both sides. The White House said they discussed Ukraine but provided no details; Merkel has previously said she wants Europe to maintain pressure on Russia over Ukraine regardless of what the US decides to do.

Trump accepted Merkel’s invitation to attend a Group of 20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to the readouts.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill also warned Trump they would look to act if he rolled back the penalties on Russia.

Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, on Friday called on Trump to “reject such a reckless course” and remember that Putin is “a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn.”

“If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law,” McCain said.

There was no indication that Putin and Trump discussed Russian attempts to interfere in the election. The Obama administration imposed additional sanctions and expelled Russian intelligence officials from the US over alleged interference. As part of a report detailing the Russian effort, both the former and current president also were briefed on an unsubstantiated dossier of salacious personal and business intelligence about Trump allegedly collected by Russian security services.

Trump has denied the allegations in the dossier, which was subsequently published by the website BuzzFeed, and the Kremlin has said it didn’t spy on the president during his trips to Russia as a private citizen.

Bloomberg, Kyodo, Agence France-Presse