Readout of the President’s Call with President Putin

President Obama called Russian President Putin today to discuss next steps in the bilateral relationship and to coordinate on regional and global issues. The Presidents had a constructive conversation on a wide range of issues. President Obama welcomed strong U.S.-Russian cooperation in the P5+1 to address the Iranian nuclear issue. The Presidents welcomed the substantive and constructive consultations held by Secretary Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov earlier this week in Berlin on implementing the Geneva Action Group framework to enable a political transition in Syria. The two Presidents agreed on the need to advance a political transition to end the violence as soon as possible and the importance of Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov continuing their engagement on Syria. The Presidents discussed the international economic situation and the path toward a more substantial trade and investment relationship between the United States and Russia.  Finally, the Presidents agreed to hold a bilateral meeting in conjunction with the June G8 Summit in Northern Ireland and President Obama said he looks forward to visiting St. Petersburg for the G-20 meeting in September.