Trump calls Putin for first time after release of Mueller report

Washington: United States President Donald Trump on Friday telephoned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s alleged meddling in 2016 Presidential elections.

The Hill quoted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as saying that the Mueller report came up “briefly” during the hourlong call and the message was: “It’s over and there was no collusion.”

Post the telephonic conversation, Trump, in a pair of tweets, said he had “very productive talks” with Putin, and discussed Venezuela crisis, North Korea, Ukraine, China, Mueller report, trade, and Nuclear Arms Control.

“Had a long and very good conversation with President Putin of Russia. As I have always said, long before the Witch Hunt started, getting along with Russia, China, and everyone is a good thing, not a bad thing we discussed Trade, Venezuela, Ukraine, North Korea, Nuclear Arms Control and even the “Russian Hoax.” Very productive talk!”Trump tweeted.

Last month, the US President had dubbed the results of the Mueller investigation as “pretty amazing,” adding, “The end result of the greatest Witch Hunt in US political history is No Collusion with Russia (and No Obstruction). Pretty Amazing!”

This comes after the redacted version of the Mueller report was made public on April 18. While Mueller found no Russian collusion in Trump’s campaign for the 2016 Presidential elections, he fell short of completely exonerating the incumbent US President when it came to obstruction of justice.

On the other hand, Attorney General William Barr, in his conclusions, made the decision to not prosecute Trump.
After the redacted version of the findings of Mueller’s 22-month long investigation was released, senior Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi outlined that there is a stark difference between what Barr wrote in his conclusions and Mueller’s findings.

The Democrats have continued with their demand seeking the release of the complete Mueller report, calling the Special Counsel to testify before the House Judiciary Committee “no later than May 23.”

The phone conversation also holds prominence as it comes amid mounting political and civil unrest in Venezuela. US and Russia have taken diametrically opposed stands in the ongoing crisis in the Latin American Country.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]