US President Donald Trump on Thursday telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of a new nuclear deal, North Korea's nuclear disarmament and their countries' stance on the political crisis in Venezuela.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that Trump and Putin talked during the hour-and-a-half conversation about the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear agreement between the United States, Russia and China, or the extension of the current strategic nuclear agreement between the two countries.
The two presidents "discussed the new nuclear agreement or extension, and the possibility of dialogue with China on the matter as well," she said.
"They discussed trade and the fact that they have increased between the two countries since the president took office, they talked about North Korea, they talked about Ukraine and Venezuela, and the dialogue was comprehensive and positive."
She also said that the dialogue briefly touched on the results of the investigation of special investigator Robert Mueller on the Russian intervention in the presidential elections in 2016, noting that the issue was discussed in the context of talking about the end of the investigation.
In a number of tweets, Trump said he had spoken to Putin about what he called the "Russian lie," in reference to Muller's investigations.
"I have had a very long and pleasant dialogue with Russian President Putin. As I have always said, long before the persecution campaign began, good relations with Russia, China and everyone are good, not bad," he said.
Putin told Trump of his recent talks in Vladivostok with North Korean President Kim Jong-un, saying that Pyongyang was carrying out all its commitments and that corresponding steps must be taken to ease pressure on North Korea.
On Venezuela, Trump stressed during the call that the United States "stands by the Venezuelan people", while Putin stressed - according to the Kremlin - that only the Venezuelan people have the right to self-determination, and that external interference in internal affairs and the attempt to change power by force In Venezuela undermine the possibility of a political settlement of the crisis.
The two sides also discussed the situation in Ukraine in light of the results of last month's presidential election. Putin stressed that Ukrainian President-elect Vladimir Zelinsky should take real steps to implement the Minsk agreements to settle the situation in southeastern Ukraine.