UPDATE 2: The Washington Post:
President Trump did not follow specific warnings from his national security advisers when he congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday on his reelection, including a section in his briefing materials in all-capital letters stating “DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” according to officials familiar with the call.
Trump also chose not to heed talking points from aides instructing him to condemn Putin about the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom with a powerful nerve agent, a case that both the British and U.S. governments have blamed on Moscow.
(...)
The White House press office declined to comment on the briefing materials given to Trump. Two people familiar with the notecards acknowledged that they included instructions not to congratulate Putin. But a senior White House official emphasized that national security adviser H.R. McMaster did not mention the issue during a telephone briefing with the president, who was in the White House residence ahead of and during his conversation with Putin.
It was not clear whether Trump read the notes, administration officials said. Trump, who initiated the call, opened it with the congratulations for Putin, one person familiar with the conversation said.
Full story: Trump’s national security advisers warned him not to congratulate Putin. He did it anyway. (WaPo)
UPDATE: White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tells reporters President Trump did not mention election meddling or the ex-spy poisoning in Britain during his call with Putin. She also refused to say whether the administration thought the Russian election was free and fair. Instead, she offered, "We don't get to dictate how other countries operate."
WATCH:
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released a statement condemning the President for congratulating Putin.
“An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country's future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin's regime."
Statement by SACS Chairman John McCain on President Trump Congratulating Vladimir Putin (press release)
President Trump says he called Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday and congratulated him on his electoral win Sunday, even though there were widespread reports of voting violations and irregularities.
During a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, the president said he spoke with Putin.
"I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory. The call had to do also with the fact that we will probably get together in the not too distant future so that we can discuss arms. We can discuss the arms race. As you know he made a statement that being in an arms race is not a great thing. That was right after the election. One of the first statements he made. And we are spending $700 billion this year in our military, and a lot of it is that we are going to remain stronger than any other nation in the world by far. We had a very good call, and I suspect that we'll probably be meeting in the not too distant future to discuss the arms race which is getting out of control. But we will never allow anybody to have anything even close to what we have, and also to discuss Ukraine and Syria and North Kore, and various other things. So I think probably we will be seeing President Putin in the not too distant future."
"Well, we are going to see what happens. The Iran deal is coming up. It's probably another month or so and you're going to see what I do. But Iran has not been that part of the world or the world itself appropriately. Lot of bad things are happening in Iran. The deal is coming up in one month. And you will see what happens. Ok?"
Watch:
Russia's official readout of the conversation is posted on the Kremlin website. It makes a point of stating President Trump initiated the call. It also claims the two men discussed economic cooperation and energy issues as well as Rex Tillerson's departure.
It was agreed to develop further bilateral contacts in light of the changes in leadership at the US Department of State. The possibility of organising a top-level meeting received special attention.
On the whole, the conversation was constructive and businesslike, with a focus on overcoming the accumulated problems in Russian-American relations.
President Donald Trump congratulated his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for winning his recent presidential election, a Kremlin spokesman said Tuesday.
Trump and Putin also discussed limiting the arms race and cooperation on combating terrorism, according to an Associated Press report based on a statement from the Russian government. The Kremlin said the two men also talked about a potential bilateral meeting between them, as well as the ongoing civil war in Syria – on which the U.S. and Russia find themselves on opposite sides – and continuing unrest in Ukraine.
Kremlin: Trump congratulated Putin on Russian election win (Politico)
Telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump (Kremlin)