A senior Donald Trump administration official said Russian President Vladimir Putin had requested the call and described it as an effort to present his ideas for Syria. Photo: AFPWashington/Moscow: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday moved to ease the tension from US air strikes in April against Russian ally Syria, expressing a desire for a Syrian ceasefire and safe zones for the civil war’s refugees. Trump ordered 59 cruise missiles launched in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that the United States blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. With a ceasefire ever elusive in Syria, the White House said Washington would send a representative to ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday. The Kremlin said Putin and Trump agreed to step up dialogue on finding ways to strengthen a ceasefire and give it stability.

Source: Mint May 03, 2017 03:11 UTC