Private calls between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have the tone of “two guys in a steam bath” according to an aide’s account of the conversations described to CNN. The US president is often ousmarted by his Russian counterart, according to the aide’s summary. It comes amid concerns that the Trump administration did not act on reports that Russia planned on paying Taliban bounties to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. Mr Trump dismissed those claims as “another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News”.Russian authorities added that president Putin had not discussed the claims with president Trump, and denied the Taliban plan.
