President Obama talks to President Putin on Ukraine,Middle East and Korean issues

Moscow: Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States of America Barack Obama on the American side’s initiative.

The heads of state had a substantive discussion on issues of settling the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East with a focus on finding ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Vladimir Putin stressed, in particular, the need for Kiev’s full and rigorous observance of the Minsk Agreements, including establishing a direct dialogue with Donbass, reaching an agreement with them on the constitutional amendments under preparation, holding local elections and the entry into force of laws on special status and amnesty.

Both Presidents noted the importance of the upcoming contacts between the two nations’ representatives on Ukrainian issues.

The leaders expressed mutual support for the UN’s efforts to organise talks at the end of January in Geneva between the Syrian government and the representative delegation of opposition circles with the aim of reaching political settlement in Syria in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Vladimir Putin once again stressed the need to create a broad coalition for fighting ISIS and other extremist organisations, emphasising the need for quickly preparing lists of terrorist structures and refusing double standards in labelling particular groups.

The Presidents discussed certain aspects of bilateral contacts in various formats, including in the military sphere, aimed at consolidating efforts in the fight against the threat of terrorism in the Middle East.

The leaders also called for deescalating tensions following the crisis in the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In light of the North Korean leadership’s statement on testing a hydrogen bomb, the heads of state of the United States and Russia noted that, if confirmed, this would be a gross violation of corresponding UN Security Council resolutions and should meet with a harsh international response. At the same time, Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia’s consistent position in favour of diplomatic settlement of the Korean problem. To avoid further escalation of the situation, the President of Russia spoke in favour of all relevant sides exercising maximum restraint and not taking action that could incite military escalation in Northeast Asia.

The leaders also touched on other issues of mutual interest. The conversation was frank and constructive.