Putin called Obama to discuss the fight against the Islamic State

Russian President Vladimir Putin called US leader Barack Obama to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the fight against the Islamic State.

The presidents agreed that they would instruct Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to hold a meeting to discuss the fight against terrorism and the problem of expanding the influence of the Islamic State group, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

In the context of discussing the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Obama has once again declared that Russia needs to withdraw the military and equipment from the Ukrainian territory, the White House said. Moscow has consistently denied that it is helping the armed supporters of the self-proclaimed DNR and the LC with equipment or the military.

According to Peskov, the heads of state discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

“In this context, the presidents agreed that in the near future, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin will establish contacts to discuss the progress of implementation of these agreements,” Peskov emphasized.

Obama and Putin also discussed the importance of unity within the six negotiators on Iran's nuclear program. The framework agreement, reached on April 2 at talks in Lausanne, envisages a reduction in the scale of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the gradual lifting of international sanctions.