President Trump called Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and offered to help tackle wildfires that have been raging through Russia’s Siberia, the Kremlin says.
Putin’s office thanked Trump for the offer, but denied US assistance — telling him he had already instructed Russia’s Defense Ministry to assist in putting out the fires.
“Such a decision was made by [Putin] after a report was drawn up by Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev,” the Kremlin said Wednesday in a statement.
“To date, forest fires have been listed in the districts of Taimyr, Evenkia, the Boguchansky, Kezhemsky, Yeniseisky, Motyginsky and Abansky,” officials explained. “Due to the wild fires, a state of emergency was introduced throughout the Irkutsk Region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in two districts of Buryatia as well as in one district of Yakutia.”
More than 7 million acres of remote forest have been burned in Siberia as a result of the fires.
According to Russian officials, Putin viewed Trump’s phone call on Wednesday as a sign of greater things to come.
“In the future, it will be possible to restore full-format relations between the two countries,” the Kremlin said, quoting Putin.
The White House confirmed the exchange on Wednesday night, saying Trump “spoke with President Vladimir Putin” and “expressed concern over the vast wildfires afflicting Siberia.”
“The leaders also discussed trade between the two countries,” the administration said in a statement.
Russia’s wildfires have been burning for several days now — with satellite images showing just how bad they’ve been.
Giant plumes of smoke can be seen overhead, stretching for thousands of miles towards Canada and even the US.
The fires have been mostly in remote areas and no injuries or evacuations have been reported. They appear to have been started by lightning strikes during “dry thunderstorms.”
“The situation is difficult,” said Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, while surveying scorched areas in the Krasnoyarsk region. “Many forests are burning, smog and smoke are observed over many populated areas. The prognosis at this moment is not happy.”
With Post wires