MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed the hope that Russian-American relations will return to normal.
"I do hope that the realization that the world is changing - and in this changing world there will be a rethinking of one’s priorities and interests - will lead to the fact that the world order will become more favorable, and our relations, including with the United States, will return to normal," the Russian leader said during his annual Q&A session on Wednesday.
He noted though that Washington was trying to preserve its monopoly in spite of dramatic changes in the world. "The world is changing dramatically. And our partners in the US, on the one hand, understand this, and this is why the Geneva meeting [with US President Joe Biden] took place. On the other hand, they seek to preserve their monopoly position at any cost," the Russian leader noted. Hence, the threats and "further, destructive behavior involving exercises, provocations and sanctions," he added.
"The period of the unipolar world has gone. And you should proceed from the fact that the world is changing and it is changing very quickly," Putin said.
He cited Russia, which is developing despite of all the obstacles created by the West, as an example. "Whatever sanctions may be used against Russia, no matter how they may try to frighten us, Russia is developing all the same and its economic sovereignty is increasing. The defense capability has reached a very high level and surpassed many countries of the world by many parameters. It has also outperformed the United States by some parameters," the Russian leader stressed.