MOSCOW, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed "urgent issues" in bilateral diplomatic relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula in a phone call Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"At the initiative of the American side, urgent issues of the bilateral agenda were discussed, as well as the situation in hotspots with a focus on the settlement of the Korean nuclear crisis," the statement read.

Earlier in the day, Putin said at an annual press conference that he believed in Trump's ability to honor the promises made during the latter's election campaign on getting relations between Moscow and Washington back on track.

The White House said in a statement that Trump thanked Putin "for acknowledging America's strong economic performance in his annual press conference."

The two also discussed working together to resolve the "very dangerous situation" on the Korean Peninsula, the White House said.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that while the Trump administration is still determined to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arsenal, Washington is willing to "have the first meeting without preconditions" with representatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.