The number of Russian transgressions against the United States reads like a laundry list, a lengthy laundry list. There’s the ongoing threat to the 2020 election, the hacking of information involving a coronavirus vaccine and the Russian offer of bounties to the Taliban in Afghanistan for killing American soldiers. But in a conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Thursday, it appears none of those issues were discussed. Reuters reports:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed arms control and Iran’s nuclear arms programme in a telephone call, the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday.
The two leaders also expressed a mutual desire to develop trade and economic interaction between Russia and the United States, the Kremlin added.
Axios also points out:
The phone call comes amid recent warnings that hackers associated with Russian intelligence services have tried to steal information from researchers working to develop a coronavirus vaccine.