Trump Discusses Middle East, North Korea on Phone Call With Putin

Palestinian Prez Mahmoud Abbas told Putin he doesn’t want to cooperate with US following its Jerusalem decision.

US President Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Photo: The Quint)

US President Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladamir Putin on the Israel-Palestine situation upon how it's time to work towards a peace agreement between the two nations.

Trump told Putin in a phone call on Monday that now is the time to work toward a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, according to a statement released by the White House.

Apart from the Israel-Palestine situation, Trump and Putin also talked about North Korea’s nuclear program and talked about how more steps should be taken to ensure North Korea gives up its nuclear program, the statement said.

(Source: Reuters)

Palestine “Doesn’t Want to Cooperate With US”

The phone call came ahead of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visit to Russia.

Following the call, President Vladimir Putin on Monday passed greetings from the US President to the visiting Palestinian leader, who responded that he doesn't want to cooperate with Washington following its decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Speaking at the start of their meeting in the Kremlin, Putin told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he was just off the phone with Trump.  

"Naturally, we spoke about the Palestinian-Israeli settlement," he said. "I would like to convey to you his best wishes."

Abbas responded that the Palestinians don't want to cooperate with the United States as a sponsor of the peace process, but welcome multilateral cooperation.

Trump honored a campaign promise in December by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and vowing to relocate the US Embassy there.

The move outraged Palestinians and others across the Muslim world. Palestinian leaders have said it means that Washington can no longer serve as a Middle East peace broker.

"We refuse to cooperate with Americans as co-sponsors," Abbas told Putin in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.

President Trump again surprised us. His decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and consider Jerusalem the capital of Israel was like a slap in our face.

Mahmoud Abbas, President, Palestine

(Source: AP)