US President
Barack Obama has thanked his Russian counterpart for his role in achieving a
nuclear agreement with Iran. Washington says the two leaders also pledged
during the talk to work to reduce tensions in Syria.
Deutsche Welle,
16 July 2015
Barack
Obama called the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and agreed to
remain in touch following the nuclear agreement that was signed with Iran a day
earlier.
"The
President thanked President Putin for Russia's important role in achieving this
milestone, the culmination of nearly 20 months of intense negotiations,"
the White House said in a statement.
Putin and
Obama also decided to remain in close contact over the conflict in Syria and
"work together to reduce regional tensions," the White House said in
its statement.
Help despite
differences
Moscow was
among the representatives of the P5+1 group of countries, which includes the
United Nations Security Council's five permanent members - France, US, UK,
China and Russia - along with Germany, that participated in the talks to reach
an agreement with Iran on its nuclear plants.
Obama
praise for his Russian counterpart - calling Moscow "a help" - comes
as Western powers are having a difficult time with the country, which is
believed to be siding with pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's east. The
conflict, which has been going on since last year, has killed more than 6,000
people and prompted the EU and US to impose severe sanctions on Moscow.
"I'll
be honest with you. I was not sure given the strong differences we are having
with Russia now around Ukraine, whether this would sustain itself," Obama
said of Moscow's role in the Tehran talks.
Ashton
Carter to travel to Riyadh
Meanwhile,
the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter was planning to travel to Saudi Arabia
as part of Obama's efforts to convince his allies in the area that the deal
represents a victory.
Carter's
trip is set to involve a stop in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has been vehemently condemning the agreement, National Security
Adviser Susan Rice told Reuters news agency.
"Secretary
of Defense Ashton Carter will be going out to Israel this weekend, and to Saudi
Arabia, and he will be continuing our practical cooperation with both Israel
and our partners in the Gulf," she added.
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