President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were scheduled to speak by phone Tuesday, their first known conversation since the us missile strikes on a Syrian air base that sparked new tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Mr Putin and Trump also spoke of how best to resolve the "very dangerous" situation in North Korea, officials said.
The White House said in a statement that Trump and Putin discussed the need to "end the violence" in Syria and discussed Trump's proposal to create safe zones.
Trump agreed to send a representative to Syrian cease-fire talks in Kazakhstan that begin on Wednesday.
During the conversation, two pair went on to discuss "at length" eradicating terrorism throughout the Middle East.
The conversation has been described by the White House as "very good", while the Kremlin called it "business-like" and "constructive".
Putin and Trump further agreed to continue their telephone contacts and spoke in favor of arranging a personal meeting during the G20 Summit in Hamburg scheduled for July 7-8.
"Putin called for restraint and a reduction in the level of tensions (in the Korean Peninsula)".
Adrienne Watson, the deputy communications director of the Democratic National Committee, said: "Trump's bromance with Putin appears to be back on track".
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Some of Mr Trump's top advisers, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, levelled blistering criticism on Russian Federation and Mr Putin following the chemical weapons attack.
Mr Trump's recent overtures to authoritarian leaders, including the president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, whom he invited to the White House at the weekend, has prompted criticism from many in the Republican Party over a possible shift in foreign policy.
"US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the Syrian crisis and "the very risky situation" on the Korean Peninsula".
The US strike was in response to a suspected chemical attack by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a Putin ally, on his own people.
Yet, just a day after those comments, Trump tweeted that "things will work out fine" between the USA and Russian Federation and "everyone will come to their senses".
The Kremlin made no mention of safe zones in its own statement after the phone call, and Putin's spokesman played down the idea.
Trump has vigorously denied any nefarious ties to Moscow, calling the Russian investigations a "hoax".
It was Merkel's second visit to Russian Federation since that country incited outcry in the West by annexing neighbouring Ukraine's Crimea region three years ago.
Tensions between Russian Federation and the US have reached a post-Cold War high in recent months, amid revelations that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 election.
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