Putin, Trump discuss North Korea over phone

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump discussed North Korea over the phone on Thursday, the Kremlin said early Friday.

According to the Kremlin statement, at the initiative of the American side Putin had a telephone conversation with Trump.

The leaders discussed bilateral relations, as well as the situation in the Korean Peninsula. They agreed to continue contacts, it added.

The phone call came after Putin's 13th annual news conference, where he praised the growing U.S. economy.

"Look at the markets, which have grown. This is evidence of investors’ trust in the U.S. economy. This means they trust what President Trump is doing in this area," Putin said at the conference.

According to a White House statement, Trump thanked Putin for acknowledging America’s "strong" economic performance in his conference.

"The two presidents also discussed working together to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea," it added.