Donald Trump to telephone Vladimir Putin on Saturday

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are to hold a phone call on Saturday in their first conversation since Trump took office, with Vice President Mike Pence joining the call.

Trump has pledged to forge better relations with Russia than his predecessor.

This month, he suggested he would lift sanctions imposed by the Obama administration if the Kremlin helps the US battle terrorists.

For his part, Putin congratulated Trump, in new year’s message, and expressed hope their two countries would be able to "take their interaction in the international arena to a whole new level."

"Major global and regional challenges that our countries have confronted in recent years clearly confirm that Russia-US relations are an important factor in ensuring stability and security in the modern world," Putin said.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called this week for the "re-establishment of normal relations" between Russia and the United States under the Trump administration.

"Following the difficult relations we had under Barack Obama, President Putin is ready to meet in the interests of global security and stability," Lavrov said.