Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to “normalize” the increasingly tense relationship between Russia and the U.S. through trade and the “principles of equality,” the Kremlin said in a statement Monday.
The Russian president and the American president-elect spoke by phone, the statement said, adding that Putin called to again congratulate Trump and wish him "success in implementing the election agenda."
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Trump's transition team confirmed the call, stating that the pair discussed “a range of issues, including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia.”
The statement added that Trump “is very much looking forward to having a strong and enduring relationship with Russia and the people of Russia.”
According to the Kremlin, Trump and Putin agreed on “the extremely unsatisfactory” state of relations between the two countries and said they would work “to normalize them and bring them to the framework of constructive cooperation. Stressed was, among other things, the importance of the creation of a stable foundation for bilateral relations by developing their trade and market component.”
Citing the Russian leader, the Kremlin statement added that this new relationship will be based “on the principles of equality, mutual respect and respective non-involvement in the other party's domestic affairs.”
The statement from the Russians said that Putin and Trump agreed on combating “global enemy number one” — international terrorism and extremism.
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"To that end, they also discussed the Syrian settlement," the statement said without providing additional details.
Officials are now working to arrange a personal meeting between the two leaders, the statement said.
Russia played an outsize role in the presidential campaign, with U.S. officials and cyber security experts saying they were certain state-sponsored Russian hackers targeted Democratic National Committee email servers. During a campaign stop in Florida earlier this year, Trump publicly asked Russia to “find” emails that he said had gone missing from Hillary Clinton’s email server.
