Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude Sunday to President Donald Trump for a CIA tip which helped stop several ISIS-inspired terror attacks in St. Petersburg, according to the Kremlin.
The Kremlin noted that thanks to the tip, Russia’s Federal Security Service was able to track down and arrest a group of suspects that was planning to bomb Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites, CBS News reports.
In the Sunday phone call, Putin asked Trump to convey his gratitude to the CIA for providing the information and told him that Russian law enforcement agencies will continue to provide any information they get about potential terror threats against the U.S.
On Sunday morning, White House Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the phone call in a tweet that read, “Can confirm @POTUS and President Putin spoke today. Readout from the WH coming shortly.”
According to the White House, this was the second time since Thursday that the two presidents had talked by phone. Previously, Trump thanked the Russian president for his remarks “acknowledging America’s strong economic performance.”
The White House added that during the first phone call Trump and Putin discussed ways of addressing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons program.
An official White House statement from Sunday afternoon said that Trump “appreciated the call” and told Putin that both he and the intelligence community were happy they could help “save so many lives.”
“President Trump stressed the importance of intelligence cooperations to defeat terrorists wherever they may be. Both leaders agreed that this serves as an example of the positive things that can occur when our countries work together,” the readout said.
Trump later congratulated CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the entire intelligence community for “a job well done,” the White House said.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, announced Friday that seven suspected Islamic State followers had been arrested for allegedly planning to carry out suicide bombings in St. Petersburg’s busiest areas this weekend.
Russian news reports said that the Kazan Cathedral was the prime target.
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