Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the crisis over North Korea ’s nuclear program in a phone call Thursday , in which the US president took the unusual step of thanking his Russian counterpart for praising America ’s economy .
The two heads of state discussed “ the situation in several crisis zones, with a focus on solving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, ” the Kremlin said in a statement , without elaborating.
The White House said the two “ discussed working together to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea .”
But Trump’ s thanks to Putin took top billing in the US statement .
“ President Trump thanked President Putin for acknowledging America ’ s strong economic performance in his Annual Press Conference, ” it said .
Earlier in the day, Putin told his press conference : “ Look at how the markets are reacting , they are growing . This shows confidence in the American economy . With all due respect to ( Trump’ s) opponents , these are objective facts. ”
The pair have lavished praise on each other in the past , with commentators describing their cozy relationship as a “ bromance.”
Special counsel Robert Mueller is currently investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow to tilt the White House race in his favor .
Washington this week said it was ready to talk to North Korea — which has launched several intercontinental ballistic missiles in recent months — “without preconditions . ”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that while the Trump administration was still determined to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arsenal , it was willing to “have the first meeting without preconditions . ”
Putin, in his annual press conference with hundreds of journalists in Moscow , welcomed the United States ’ “ awareness of reality” in the crisis .
However , he called on all sides to “ stop aggravating the situation ” and said Moscow did not recognize North Korea ’ s status as a nuclear power .
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