Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump had a constructive telephone conversation on Thursday, July 23, positively assessing cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus and expressing their intention to develop trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin's press service reports.
"They have expressed a mutual desire to develop Russian-American trade and economic cooperation," the message reads. According to the press service, the conversation also gave a "positive assessment of cooperation in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus infection".
"The conversation was constructive and substantive," the Kremlin stressed, noting that the leaders agreed to continue contacts at various levels.
The previous time Putin and Trump spoke by phone on June 1.
As the Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said earlier, Russia and the US could significantly increase the volume of bilateral trade, which last year amounted to $28 billion. According to him, at the highest level, the task is to increase business contacts, trade and investment.
The presidents of the two countries discussed the topic of cooperation between Russia and the United States in the fight against the coronavirus for the first time in a telephone conversation on March 30. Initially, Russia provided assistance to the United States, later the American side sent 200 artificial ventilation devices to the Russian Federation.
Arms control
Putin and Trump confirmed the need for Russian-American consultations on arms control.
"The parties thoroughly discussed issues of strategic stability and arms control, considering the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for maintaining international peace and security," the message notes.
The Kremlin noted that "in this context, they reaffirmed the need for bilateral consultations on these issues, including the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty." Also, "the great importance of Russia’s initiative to hold a summit of the permanent members of the UN Security Council on a wide range of international security problems."
Earlier, the US President's special representative for arms control, Marshall Billingsley, confirmed that a new round of Russian-American consultations on arms control would take place next week in the Austrian capital, as planned.
The Russian-American START will expire at the beginning of next year if Moscow and Washington do not agree on its extension. The Treaty was signed by the two States in 2010. According to its terms, each of the parties reduces its start so that seven years after its entry into force and in the future, their total numbers do not exceed 700 deployed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), Submarine-launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers (HB), 1,550 warheads on them, 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM, SLBM and HB launchers. The agreement remains in force for 10 years (until February 5, 2021), unless replaced by a subsequent agreement before that date. It can also be extended for no more than five years (i.e. until 2026) by mutual consent of the parties.
Nuclear nonproliferation regime
The Kremlin reported that Putin and Trump touched on the situation around the Iran nuclear deal.
"The situation with the Iranian nuclear programme was touched on. Both sides emphasised the need for a collective effort to maintain regional stability and the global nuclear non-proliferation regime," the message reads.
In 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the settlement of the Iranian nuclear program, which limited Tehran's nuclear development exclusively to civilian purposes. In particular, the resolution provided for the five-year maintenance of the arms embargo against Iran.
In May 2018, the US withdrew from the JCPOA and restored economic sanctions against Tehran, including in the sphere of oil exports.
Anniversary of the Soyuz-Apollo program
The presidents of Russia and the United States "exchanged best wishes on the 45th anniversary of the joint Soyuz-Apollo space flight".
July,15 marked the 45th anniversary of the first joint space flight of ships from the two countries. Soviet cosmonauts Alexey Leonov (commander) and Valery Kubasov (flight engineer) were on board of Soyuz-19, while American astronauts Thomas Stafford (commander), Vance Brand (command module pilot) and Donald Slayton (docking module pilot) flew on the Apollo. The Soyuz-19 and Apollo docked two days later, on July 17, 1975, over Moscow, and the first space handshake between representatives of different countries took place over the Elbe.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS