U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday spoke for the first time since Trump was sworn in, Fox News reported.
Trump and Putin were expected to discuss the sanctions that Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, imposed on Russia for annexing Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula in 2014.
The White House has yet to release details of the conversation, according to Fox News, but the Kremlin said in a statement the two leaders talked about Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program, North Korean aggression and better trade and economic ties but made no mention of the sanctions.
The message on the Kremlin website, translated to English, also stated that Trump and Putin talked about coordinating efforts to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terror groups around the world, particularly in Syria.
The Kremlin also stated the leaders are working on a face-to-face meeting, but no date has been set.
Relations between the U.S. and Russia were tense during Obama’s tenure, which concluded with him expelling 35 Russian diplomats following a CIA report which assessed that Russia was responsible for hacking the computers of Democrats in order to sabotage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
While Trump has accepted the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the November election, he has also said that it is time “to move on” and normalize relations with Russia.
Both Republicans and Democrats, however, have spoken out against the possibility of lifting the sanctions against Russia.
"For the sake of America’s national security and that of our allies, I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation … and reject such a reckless course,” Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said in a statement quoted by Fox News. “If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."
While Trump had said that he is prepared to review the sanctions, he was noncommittal on Friday, saying, "We'll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that."