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Robert Delaney

US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin about easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders “spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea,” according to a White House statement, which provided no further details on how they will respond to a series of nuclear detonations and missile tests conducted by North Korea’s military.
Watch: How the North Korea situation intensified in just 12 days


Talk or risk reaching nuclear tipping point, Chinese diplomat warns US and North Korea
Russia was part of several rounds of six-nation talks between Pyongyang and its neighbours, which were hosted by Beijing before North Korea formally pulled out of them in 2009. Those talks also included the US, Japan, and South Korea.

With North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes posing a major global challenge, the two leaders also discussed how to go about resolving a crisis that has raised tensions throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Will North Korea crisis finally bring China and US together?
Trump said in an interview last week that a “major, major conflict” was possible with North Korea, amping up pressure on Pyongyang to stand down and for China to rein in the north.
“The dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula was discussed in detail. Vladimir Putin called for restraint and for the level of tension to be reduced,” the Kremlin said.

The discussion between Trump and Putin also focused on Syria, about which the two presidents agreed that conflict in the country “has gone on for far too long”, according to the statement. The White House said the US will send a representative to Syrian cease-fire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan on May 3 and 4.
The Kremlin said Putin and Trump agreed to step up US-Russian diplomatic efforts on Syria.

The pair agreed that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will intensify their efforts to bring about a cease-fire, with the goal of beginning a real peace process in Syria.
“The aim is to create the conditions for the launch for a real resolution process in Syria. This means that the Russian foreign minister and U.S. secretary of state will effectively inform the leaders about progress in this direction.”
Trump’s missile attack on Syria was ‘after-dinner entertainment’ says US commerce secretary
The Kremlin characterised the call as “business-like” and “constructive.”
A White House readout of the phone calls says the two leaders discussed the creation of safe zones in Syria.
Tuesday’s call was the first known discussion between the leaders since the US missile strikes against a Syrian government air base. Russia is one of the Syrian regime’s most important backers.

A Russian news agency says Trump and Putin also discussed holding their first in-person meeting in July on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Germany.
With additional reporting by the Associated Press


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Donald Trump

Trump and Putin discuss how to defuse North Korea crisis and end violence in Syria

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin where they discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in Syria. Photo: AP

epa05940645 Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia, 02 May 2017. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin expected to focus on the unresolved conflict in Ukraine and the civil war in Syria. EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV

This frame grab from video provided by the Hawar News Agency, shows a woman wounded in an attack by the Islamic State group, in bed at a clinic in Hasakeh province, Syria, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Islamic State militants staged a surprise attack early Tuesday at a crossing frequently used by Iraqi and Syrian civilians seeking safety in northeastern Syria, killing at least 37 people, most of them civilians who had fled fighting in areas held by the extremist group, Kurdish officials and activists said. (Hawar News Agency, via AP)

FILE PHOTOS: A combination photo shows a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) handout of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un released on May 10, 2016, and Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump posing for a photo after an interview with Reuters in his office in Trump Tower, in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., May 17, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA handout via Reuters/File Photo & REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THE KCNA IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SOUTH KOREA.

An internally displaced Syrian girl who fled Raqqa city carries a bag on her head inside a camp in Ain Issa, Raqqa Governorate, Syria May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said

Talk or risk reaching nuclear tipping point, Chinese diplomat warns US and North Korea

National People’s Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Fu Ying says it’s unrealistic to expect North Korea to collapse from sanctions. Photo: Simon Song

epa05934048 (FILE) - An undated file photo released on 24 April 2016 by North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows an 'underwater test-fire of strategic submarine ballistic missile' conducted at an undisclosed location in North Korea. According to media reports on 28 April 2017 state that North Korea has test-fired a ballistic missile an area just north of Pyongyang. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on 28 April 2017 that failure to curb North Korea's nuclear and missile development could lead to 'catastrophic consequences.' EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES