Putin, Trump discuss potential meeting

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart discussed the possibility of a meeting, the Kremlin's said Tuesday.

Donald Trump congratulated Putin on his election victory Sunday, according to a statement published on the Kremlin's official website.

"It was agreed to develop further bilateral contacts, including taking into account changes in the leadership of the U.S. State Department. Special attention is paid to the elaboration of the question of holding a meeting at the highest level", it said.

The leaders underlined the importance of coordinated efforts on limiting the arms race are in favor of reviving economic cooperation, especially on energy.

Crises in Syria and Ukraine were also discussed.

Later commenting on the possible meeting, Trump told reporters "we will probably get together in the not too distant future".

He and Putin would probably “discuss the arms race which is getting out of control. But we will never allow anybody to have anything close to what we have. And also to discuss Ukraine, and Syria and North Korea, and various other things. So I think probably we’ll be seeing President Putin in the not too distant future.”

Trump "emphasized the importance of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula", the White House added in a separate statement.

"The two leaders confirmed the need for the United States and Russia to continue our shared efforts on strategic stability," it said.

*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington