NEW YORK, September 12 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed US President Barack Obama’s “interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria.”
“We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations,” he writes in an article published by The New York Times.
“If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust,” Putin says. “It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues.”
Putin writes that his working and personal relations with President Obama are marked by growing trust.
“I appreciate this,” the article says. “I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.”
Putin indicates that it is extremely dangerous to encourage people “to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation.”
“There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy,’ he writes. “Their policies differ, too.”
“We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal,” Putin says in conclusion.