Putin, Trump discuss Korean Peninsula, Venezuela over phone: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Friday discussed the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the situation in Venezuela during a phone talk, the Kremlin said.Putin informed Trump of the main results of his meeting with top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un last week.

The Russian president underlined that Pyongyang’s “good-faith fulfillment of its commitments” should be accompanied by reciprocal steps to reduce the sanctions pressure on the DPRK, the Kremlin said in a statement.Putin and Kim held their first meeting in Russia’s Vladivostok on April 25, and had an in-depth discussion on various topics including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, bilateral relations and relations with the United States.

Putin and Trump agreed that it is important to consistently move along the path of denuclearization and achieve long-term normalization on the peninsula, the Kremlin said.As to the latest situation on Venezuela, Putin reiterated that “only the Venezuelans themselves have the right to determine the future of their country” and that external interference does nothing but undermines the prospects for a political settlement of the current crisis.

On Tuesday, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who had proclaimed himself as the interim president, reportedly called on the Venezuelan people and military to take to the streets to overthrow the country’s President Nicolas Maduro. The attempted coup was later frustrated by security forces.

During the exchange of views on Ukraine, Putin told Trump that the new Kiev leadership has to take real steps to implement the Minsk accords, which are the key to resolving the Ukrainian conflict.

The two presidents also discussed prospects of Russia-U.S. relations, in particular, developing “mutually beneficial trade and investment ties.”They affirmed their shared commitment to step up dialogue in various areas, including on issues of strategic stability, according to the Kremlin.