White House: Trump, Putin discuss nuclear pacts

White House: Trump, Putin discuss nuclear pacts
# 03 May 2019 20:48 (UTC +04:00)

President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for over an hour on Friday, with much of the conversation focusing on the possibility of penning a new nuclear accord with Moscow and Beijing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has said, ONA reports citing Sputnik.

"They discussed a nuclear agreement, both new and extended, and the possibility of having conversations with China on that as well," Sanders noted, speaking to reporters.

According to the spokeswoman, the discussion also included a focus on the extention of the New START treaty between Russia and the US, with the 2010 agreement, which is up for renewal in 2021, committing both countries to reduce the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers by half.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed Friday that Putin and Trump had spoken, saying the discussion "lasted almost nearly an hour and a half" and promising to provide more details on the conversation at a later time.

Sanders said that in addition to nuclear issues, Friday's discussion included the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Mueller report, trade, Ukraine, and the crisis in Venezuela.

According to the spokeswoman, Trump had urged Putin to put pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and reminded Moscow that "all options continue to be on the table" regarding Venezuela. Sanders noted that Friday's talks were "an overall positive conversation."

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