US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed working together to end the bloody Syrian civil war in their first phone call since US air strikes in Syria strained relations between the leaders.

In what was the third call between the pair since Mr Trump took office in January, the leaders also discussed combining to battle the threat of Islamic State in the region and the mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The White House released a statement shortly after the call Wednesday morning (AEST) saying Mr Trump and Mr Putin agreed “that the suffering in Syria has gone on for far too long and that all parties must do all they can to end the violence”.

The White House said the two leaders agreed that “all parties must do all they can to end the violence” in Syria and that Mr Trump and Mr Putin also discussed working together against Islamic militants throughout the Middle East.

“The conversation was a very good one, and included the discussion of safe, or de-escalation, zones to achieve lasting peace for humanitarian and many other reasons,” a White House statement said. 

The US airstrike on a Syrian airfield strained US-Russian relations. Photo: US Navy

Trump’s decision to launch 59 cruise missiles against a Syrian airfield on April 4 in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack angered the Russians and led to some bitter exchanges between the two governments.

The White House statement said Washington will send a representative to Syrian cease-fire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday and Thursday.

“They also discussed at length working together to eradicate terrorism throughout the Middle East. Finally, they spoke about how best to resolve the very dangerous situation in North Korea,” the statement said.

The Kremlin, which called the talks between Putin and Trump business-like and constructive, said the two leaders had emphasised coordinating their actions to fight international terrorism.

On North Korea, the Kremlin said Putin called for restraint and that the two leaders had agreed to work together to make diplomatic progress there too.

Both men also spoke in favour of organising a face-to-face meeting around the time of the G20 summit in Hamburg in July, according to the Kremlin statement.

– With AAP