US-Mex presidents agree to mute public border-wall statements

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and US President Donald Trump spoke for an hour via telephone Friday morning in an attempt to mend shaken US-Mexico relations.

The Mexican government, in a statement, described the call as "constructive and productive" and included a mutual agreement to pull the question of who will pay for the wall from public statements until further discussions take place.

"With respect to the payment of the border wall, both presidents recognize their clear and very public differences in position on this highly sensitive issue and agreed to resolve these differences as part of a comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the bilateral relationship," read the Mexican statement.

Both presidents, it added, "have instructed their teams to continue the ongoing dialogue to strengthen the important strategic and economic relationship in a constructive manner."

Mexican envoys, including economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo and foreign relations secretary Luis Videgaray, went to Washington DC this week to meet Trump's new administration and carry out high-level discussions, most importantly on trade and Nafta.

However, plans for a smooth interaction with a follow-up visit Tuesday from Peña Nieto began to fall apart Wednesday with Trump's executive order to move immediately to begin to build the border wall and unequivocal statements that Mexico would pay - a point Mexico has doggedly rejected.