U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the "not-too-distant" future to discuss various issues, including North Korea.

Trump announced the plan after holding a phone call with Putin to congratulate him on his reelection.

"The call had to do, also, with the fact that we will probably get together in the not-too-distant future so that we can discuss arms, we can discuss the arms race," he said ahead of talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House. "And also to discuss Ukraine and Syria and North Korea and various other things."



The White House said in a readout of the call that Trump "emphasized the importance of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula."

Russia has been a key player in international efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. It serves as a permanent veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council and last year backed three sanctions resolutions against Pyongyang in response to its sixth nuclear test and three intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the end of May to discuss the denuclearization of the regime.

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