US, Russia agree to end violence in Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press conference on 28 March 2017 [Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency]

On Tuesday afternoon US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone about the war in Syria in their first conversation since Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria following the gas attack carried out by President Assad.

Image of US President Donald Trump in Washington, US on April 25, 2017 [Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency]

Russia – who support Assad and deny that he carried out the chemical attack – condemned the strikes on the Syrian air base, and suspended communication with the US military, put in place so that the two air forces do not collide when in Syrian air space.

Trump had declared that the relationship between the countries was suffering: “Right now, we’re not getting along with Russia at all. We may be at an all-time low.”

Tuesday’s phone call suggests there are moves towards a rapprochement between the two countries. Trump and Putin discussed ending the violence in Syria and Trump’s proposal to implement safe zones in the country.

Trump will send a representative to the Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan set to take place this Wednesday.

Read: Trump, Russia and the Syrian crisis

According to a White House statement, “President Trump and President Putin agreed that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence. The conversation was a very good one.”

The Kremlin said in a statement: “The goal is to create the prerequisites to launch a real settlement process in Syria.”

They also discussed terrorism in the Middle East and the North Korean nuclear programme.

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