WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Trump to offer thanks for sharing an intelligence tip that thwarted a “major terror plot,” the White House confirmed Sunday.
It was the second phone call between the world leaders since Thursday.
“Based on the information the United States provided, Russian authorities were able to capture the terrorists just prior to an attack that could have killed large numbers of people,” the White House said in a statement.
The Sunday chat was first revealed by Moscow. The Kremlin said Putin called Trump to express thanks for a CIA tip that helped stop a planned series of bombings in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“No Russian lives were lost and the terrorist attackers were caught and are now incarcerated,” according to the White House statement. “President Trump appreciated the call and told President Putin that he and the entire United States intelligence community were pleased to have helped save so many lives.”
The Kremlin said it allowed Russia’s top domestic security agency to track down a group of suspects that planned to bomb Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites this weekend.
“The information received from the CIA proved sufficient to find and detain the criminal suspects,” the Kremlin said.
It added that Putin asked Trump to convey gratitude to the CIA and assured him that “if the Russian intelligence agencies receive information about potential terror threats against the United States and its citizens, they will immediately hand it over to their U.S. counterparts via their communications channels.”
While Russian officials have said the two countries were continuing to exchange a terror-related intelligence, Sunday’s statement from the Kremlin was Russia’s first public assertion that information from the United States helped prevent an attack.
“President Trump stressed the importance of intelligence cooperation to defeat terrorists wherever they may be,” the White House said Sunday.
The conversation was the second between the Russian and U.S. presidents in the last three days. On Thursday Trump thanked Putin for his remarks “acknowledging America’s strong economic performance,” according to the White House.
During the first call, they also discussed during ways to work together to address North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons program, the White House said.
The Federal Security Service, or FSB, announced Friday that seven suspected followers of the Islamic State group had been arrested for allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks in St. Petersburg this weekend.
The agency said the suspects were plotting a suicide bombing in a church and a series of other explosions in the city’s busiest areas this coming weekend on IS orders. It said a search of a St. Petersburg apartment found explosives, automatic weapons and extremist literature.
With The Associated Press