Trump says he has call scheduled with Putin to discuss possible case of pneumonic plague in Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has a call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible case of plague at a Siberian research institute.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he would be talking with Putin about the case “very soon.” Health authorities are investigating after the death of an employee at an anti-plague institute, which authorities attributed to pneumonia with an unknown cause.

Asked what the U.S. intelligence community was saying about the case, Trump said the U.S. is in “very deep discussions” on the topic. “We’ll be able to report about it, probably tomorrow,” Trump said.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said the case presents a “very low” risk outside Russia. The United Nations agency said it was in contact with Russian authorities following reports of the death last week of a woman who worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East.

On Monday, Trump said the U.S. would be willing to help Russia with the situation. “It’s a rough disease. You know, that’s a disease we used to be able to control, but somehow those microbes have gotten stronger and smarter. They’re like an army,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

The call also comes as the Trump administration faces an Oct. 18 deadline to decide which Russian entities, if any, it will sanction under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which Trump signed into law on Sept. 18.

Ukraine has given the administration and Congress a wish list of Russian companies, vessels and individuals it would like to see hit with U.S. sanctions under that law.

AP writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.