Dec. 17 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for CIA information that helped prevent a terrorist attack, Russia’s government said.
Putin told Trump the information helped lead to the arrest of terrorists that had planned an attack on the city of St. Petersburg, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
“The Russian president thanked his US counterpart for information shared by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that helped trace, expose and detain a group of terrorists who had plotted explosions in St. Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral and in other crowded places in that city,” the Kremlin said.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the two spoke on Sunday.
The Kremlin said Putin told Trump to pass along his gratitude to the CIA and the American intelligence agents who received the information, according to the Washington Post.
Putin added: “If Russian special services obtain any information on terrorist threats against the United States and its citizens, they will definitely and immediately pass it to American counterparts through partner channels.”
The call was the second phone conversation between Putin and Trump since Thursday, when the Kremlin said they discussed U.S.-Russian ties and tensions surrounding North Korea.
