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Putin: Russia is ready for normalizing dialogue with US

Putin said that "we are open but it is not about us, it’s about our American partners"
Russian President Vladimir Putin Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

SOCHI, .May 15. /TASS/. Russia is fully ready for normalizing relations with the United States as soon as required internal political conditions emerge in Washington for this, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference after talks with Austrian President Van der Bellen on Wednesday.

"We are open but it is not about us, it’s about our American partners. As soon as they grow ready for this, as soon as their internal political situation changes in a way that it is conducive for work, we are ready to involve everything that is necessary on our part," the Russian leader stressed.

Putin said he hoped that "such conditions are created gradually," especially after a report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller on the absence of a conspiracy between Russia and US President Donald Trump’s election campaign. "In any way, we feel so that American partners are interested in restoring the relations," Putin said.

During the latest contacts (Putin’s telephone conversation with US President Trump on May 3 and his meeting with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Sochi on May 14), the sides identified the themes that are of mutual interest, the Russian leader said.

Specifically, these are the issues of strategic stability and security in the world and the non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons. There is also both countries’ common interest in settling regional conflicts, Putin stated, mentioning Afghanistan, Syria and other problematic areas where "this work [for the settlement of conflicts] will hardly be effective" without the active participation of Russia and the United States.

As for the North Korean problem, it should be resolved in a way, in which "all the sides would be satisfied with the results," Putin pointed out.

Speaking about the Iran nuclear deal, Putin stressed that this was a very acute issue linked with the entire set of Middle East problems.

"That is why, there are a lot of mutual interests. I believe that we can find points of contact in the economic sphere as well… The United States has become the largest oil producer and we need to think about how we influence the world energy market," the Russian leader said.

Putin also drew attention to other spheres. Thus, most of Boeing aircraft are produced using Russian titanium. "We are well aware of this but few people in the world know about that. There are also other areas that are of mutual interest," the Russian leader stressed.