MSNBC: Trump and Putin to Speak by Phone Following Putin-Assad Meeting

EXCERPT:

ALEXANDER: "So White House officials this morning tell me that President Trump and Putin are going to speak by phone at some point this morning. It does follow that rare meeting between Putin and Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad. The conversation, the Kremlin says, will focus on the future of Syria where the U.S. and Russia, of course, have clashed for years over the path forward. Putin and his government have long been among Assad’s biggest supporters. Now with the bloody civil war there appearing to wind down, the Kremlin is pressing for a political settlement to cement Assad's hold on power. You'll remember the U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Rex Tillerson announced that the U.S. Is not focused on pushing Assad out of power and his status would be determined by the people of Syria. That stance in direct opposition to the Obama Administration and its European allies who wanted Assad to step down."