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On Thursday, US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He made a phone call for the first time since the publication of a New York Times story alleged Russia paid bounties to Taliban fighters for killing US troops. Reports have suggested Trump didn’t bring the bounty story up to Putin. A White House spokesman, Judd Deere issued a statement and claimed both leaders discussed efforts to defeat the coronavirus epidemic while continuing to reopen global economies. Russia was alleged earlier this month of attempting to hack coronavirus vaccine research being conducted by the US, UK, and Canada.

Deere didn’t mention whether or not Trump described the issue of hacking, but said the leaders discussed preparations for upcoming weapons discussions involving China. He said, “The two leaders also discussed critical bilateral and global issues. President Trump reiterated his hope of avoiding an expensive three-way arms race between China, Russia, and the United States and looked forward to progress on upcoming arms control negotiations in Vienna”. The Russian government also issued a statement and claimed the leaders discussed strategic stability and arms control as well as the coronavirus, future economic concerns, and the nuclear program of Iran.

President Donald Trump has been under fire from various groups for his reluctance to hold Russia accountable for the alleged bounty scheme. A group of veterans VoteVets has been especially critical of the president since the story broke and it opposed Trump. The group tweeted and said, “It’s been almost 4 weeks and only silence. Trump spoke with Putin TODAY. Reporters, ask him if he stood up to his Russian master and questioned him about the bounties on our troops’ heads. Ask him if he even cares”. Point to be noted that Trump claimed he was never briefed on the bounty scheme because the threats were never considered credible enough to warrant his review.