President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday afternoon for the third time since taking office in January.
According to a read out of the call, both leaders agreed the violence in Syria must come to an end. It was the first phone call since Trump authorized the bombing of a Syria airbase controlled by Putin ally and Syrian President Bashir al Assad. Fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles crashed into the country after Assad launched a chemical gas attack on his own people, killing hundreds.
"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, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons," the call readout provided by the White House says.
The United States will send a representative to ceasefire talks tomorrow and Thursday in Kazakhstan.
Trump and Putin also discussed how to combat terrorism in the Middle East and on going threats from North Korea.
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