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| Russian President Putin |
President Donald Trump discussed Syria and the fight against Islamic State with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in one of several calls with world leaders that the new U.S. president used to put his stamp on international affairs.
Trumpโs call with Putin was their first since the New York businessman took office and came as officials said he was considering lifting sanctions on Moscow despite opposition from Democrats and Republicans at home and European allies abroad.
Neither the White House nor the Kremlin mentioned a discussion of sanctions in their statements about the roughly hour-long call.
โThe positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United States and Russia that is in need of repair,โ the White House said. โBoth President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after todayโs call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern.โ
Former President Barack Obama strongly suggested in December that Putin personally authorized the computer hacks of Democratic Party emails that U.S. intelligence officials say were part of a Russian effort aimed at helping Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.
Trumpโs relationship with Russia is being closely watched by the European Union, which teamed up with the United States to punish Moscow after its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Trump spoke to two top EU leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, on Saturday in addition to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
His call with Merkel, who had a very close relationship with Trumpโs predecessor, former President Barack Obama, included a discussion about Russia, the Ukraine crisis, and NATO, the U.S. and German governments said.
Trump has described NATO as being obsolete, a comment that has alarmed long-time U.S. allies. A White House statement said he and Merkel agreed NATO must be capable of confronting โ21rst century threats.โ
Trumpโs executive order restricting travel and instituting โextreme vettingโ of visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries already puts him at odds with Merkel, whose embrace of Syrian refugees was praised by Obama even as it created political problems for her domestically.
Trump has said previously that Merkel made a โcatastrophic mistakeโ by permitting more than a million refugees, mostly Muslims fleeing war in the Middle East, to come to her country.
In his call with Hollande, Trump โreaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO allies sharing the burden on defense spending,โ the White House said.
Hollande warned Trump against taking a protectionist approach, which he said would have economic and political consequences, according to a statement from the French presidentโs office.
The refugee order created confusion and chaotic scenes in airports on Saturday and largely overshadowed the news of Trumpโs calls with foreign leaders, which took place throughout the day and which photographers captured in photos and video outside the Oval Office.
During his call with Japanโs Abe, Trump affirmed an โironcladโ U.S. commitment to ensuring Japanโs security. The two leaders also discussed the threat posed by North Korea. They plan to meet in Washington early next month.
Trump spoke to Australiaโs Turnbull for 25 minutes and emphasized the close relationship between the two countries.
