Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced optimism about Russia-US ties, saying there was “light at the end of the tunnel” in relations that have hit their lowest point in years, as the two sides explore cooperation on projects in the Arctic and Alaska.
“As for our relations with the United States, they are at an extremely low level. I have said this many times.
“However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel now that President (Donald) Trump has come to power,” Putin said in televised remarks during a meeting with nuclear industry workers in the town of Sarov, the birthplace of the Soviet atomic programme.
“With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed,” Putin said. “We had a very good, meaningful, and frank meeting in Alaska.”
Putin added that future progress depends largely on Washington but expressed confidence in Trump’s ability to deliver.
“The next steps now depend on the leadership of the United States, but I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee that relations will be restored.”
Meanwhile, Trump said he would give Putin “a couple of weeks” before deciding on possible consequences for Moscow, extending a self-imposed deadline while urging Putin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting,” Trump told reporters. “If they don’t, why didn’t they have a meeting, because I told them to have a meeting. But I’ll know what I am going to do in two weeks.”
The US president said he began pushing for a Putin-Zelenskyy sit-down after separate talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington, followed by a phone call with Putin. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said no such meeting would take place unless Ukraine made concessions.
In a lighter moment during an event about FIFA, Trump brandished a photo of himself with Putin from their Alaska summit.
“Putin sent the picture and I’m going to sign this for him,” Trump said, adding that the Russian leader was “very respectful of me and my country, and not so respectful of others.”
Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Trump has often voiced frustration that despite his efforts, he has not been able to bring the war to an end.
