Many long-time Russia watchers could hardly believe their eyes. The cause for their surprise was a three-paragraph press release on the official website of the Russian president Vladimir Putin detailing an unexpected and unusual phone conversation between Putin and the U.S. president Donald Trump.

According to the press release, Putin "thanked" Trump for the information provided to the Russian intelligence agencies by the CIA which "was enough to locate and detain" the individuals who planned to commit terrorist acts in several well-known public places in St. Petersburg, including the Kazan Cathedral.[i] Putin asked Trump to "convey his appreciation" to the CIA director (who was, interestingly, not named) and the CIA operatives involved in the intelligence sharing.