WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Donald Trump told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday (July 23) he wanted to avoid a costly arms race with Russia and China and hoped for progress in arms control negotiations, the White House said.

"President Trump reiterated his hope of avoiding an expensive three-way arms race between China, Russia and the United States and looked forward to progress on upcoming arms control negotiations in Vienna," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

The two leaders also discussed how to defeat the coronavirus pandemic while continuing to reopen global economies, he said.