United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of brokering a ceasefire in war-torn Syria and ways to resolve tensions in North Korea, the White House said in a press briefing after both leaders held a telephonic conversation on Tuesday. The United States will send a representative to the ceasefire talks to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 3 and 4, the briefing said.
“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,” it said. “The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons.”
During their conversation, the two leaders also discussed working together to eradicate terrorism throughout West Asia, the White House said.
Putin has invited Trump to meet him in Hamburg, Germany, where both leader will be attending the G-20 summit of major economic powers in July. Tuesday’s phone call was the third conversation between the two leaders since Trump’s inauguration in January.
Syria meanwhile continues to be battered as forces led by the government of Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, launch offensives against the rebels. Eight workers of the Syria Civil Defence, a rescue group that is also known as the White Helmets, died on Saturday after airstrikes hit their head office in the northern Hama province in the country. The United States military on Monday said 352 civilians have died in Syria and Iraq in American strikes against the Islamic State group since 2014.
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