President Donald trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin this upcoming Saturday.
What do we know about the upcoming conversation?
The meeting will reportedly occur over the phone, instead of Trump and Putin meeting in person. The conversation will be the first between the two since Trump had been sworn into office earlier this month.
Trump has vowed that he wants to create better relations with Russia, and has also suggested that he would lift sanctions imposed under President Obama in exchange for Russian aid against terrorism or other goals, according to reports.
The initial sanctions were enacted due in part to allegations of security concerns of Russian hacking preceding the events of the November U.S. election. That said, Trump had also said in a released statement that he would try to retain the sanctions for an undetermined period of time.
For his part, Putin had congratulated Trump during his new year's message and also expressed a desire to build up interaction between the two countries. Putin had also reportedly sent Trump a holiday letter, which also advocated for improving Russian-American relations.
What have other figures been saying about the conversation and foreign relations?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a released statement that the intention of the upcoming conversation was to help build Russian and American relations during the upcoming administration.
Lavrov also highlighted the “difficult relations” the countries had under President Obama.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, however, recently offered a warning concerning the dealings with Russia in a released statement made during an appearance in Philadelphia. While not entirely opposing dealing with Russia, she had said that it would be wise to “engage, but beware” in upcoming deals with Putin.
According to reports, she had also advocated for defending Russia's neighboring states.
May will notably also be the first foreign leader that will meet President Trump in person during a meeting on Friday at the White House. In a released statement, she had also discussed hope in developing a trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, reflecting the need to create progress after the recent Brexit decision.
