Putin, Trump set for phone call today

Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump via telephone on Saturday in their first conversation since the latter took office.

This comes as recently, top Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said that removing U.S. sanctions on Russia is "under consideration", reports the Guardian.

Trump has been steadfast in his praise for Putin and Russia and ascended to the presidency amid allegations of Russian interference in the election campaign.

He has hinted he could look at removing sanctions on Russia, and has suggested the U.S. and Russia could work together in Syria, where Russia is allied with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian President would congratulate Trump on taking office and would launch a discussion on the current bilateral relationship. He said it was unlikely there would be specific agreements reached in the initial call.

Peskov said he was unaware of any plans to lift the sanctions.

Conway, a White House senior aide, told This Morning on CBS that Trump and Putin were likely to discuss efforts to combat terrorism.

"I assume they will discuss, in the interests of their respective countries, how to come together and work together on issues where you can find common ground and where these two nations could maybe defeat radical Islamic terrorism," she said.

Reportedly, Trump is also due to speak with German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday.