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Putin welcomes Slovenia as possible venue for his meeting with Trump

Vladimir Putin said after talks with Slovenian counterpart he has no objections about the choice of Ljubljana as a possible venue to meet with Donald Trump but it will depend on a number of factors

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he has no objections about the choice of Ljubljana as a possible venue for his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump but it will depend on a number of factors.

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President says Slovenia ready to host meeting between Putin, Trump

"As for Ljubljana, Slovenia in general, it is a wonderful place to hold such dialogue, but it doesn’t depend only on us, it depends on a number of factors, on the current agenda," Putin said after talks with visiting Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

"If such a meeting is ultimately arranged for, we have no objections about Ljubljana. We have already had such meetings in Ljubljana," he said, obviously referring to his meeting with Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.

"I would like to say thanks in advance, if such a possibility presents itself, for Slovenia’s readiness to organize such a meeting. But it doesn’t depend on us entirely. But, naturally, we are ready for it," Putin stressed.

The Russian leader noted that over the previous five years Moscow’s relations with Washington "dramatically degraded and need to be improved in the interests of both the Russian and the American peoples." Referring to Trump’s statements about resumption of dialogue with Russia, Putin said he hopes "these relations will be resumed fully and in all spheres."

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Putin urges to boost Russia-Slovenia ties

"But this depends not only on us, it also depends on the American side. We think that first the U.S. side is to finally form its team, to decide who is to conduct dialogue with us on various matters such as trade and economic relations, issues of security, various world regions suffering from numerous conflicts. Pooling our efforts, we would be able to make a considerable contribution to the resolution of these problems, including what concerns efforts against international terrorism," Putin said.

Ahead of his trip to Moscow, Pahor said in an exclusive interview with TASS that Slovenia’s authorities would be glad to provide a platform for the first meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. "The choice of place for a possible summit depends on the decisions that Washington and Moscow will make," the Slovenian leader noted. "However, if the two presidents decide to meet in Slovenia, we will be only too happy about that." In 2001, Slovenia hosted a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then US President George W. Bush, he said.

Earlier, the idea of organizing a meeting between Putin and Trump in the Slovenian capital city was supported by Prime Minister Miro Cerar and Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec.

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