Putin says restoring Russia-US ties depends on Washington’s stance
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the full restoration of his country’s relations with the United States depends on Washington’s stance. He stressed, however, that Moscow wants to rebuild these ties.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok, Putin said Russia has many friends in the United States and that contacts with representatives appointed by current US President Donald Trump to talk with Russia are continuing.
In another part of his remarks on the war in Ukraine, the Russian president said he believed there were opportunities to resolve the conflict. He added that Russia is grateful to those parties working to help end the war.
According to Putin, China has always paid attention to resolving the Ukraine conflict and has stressed the use of peaceful means to bring it to an end. He also said contacts between Russia and Ukraine continue through intelligence agencies.
Putin called Ukraine’s Western allies, who he said remain silent in the face of events, “accomplices to international terrorism.” He also claimed that what he described as “manifestations of Kyiv’s state terrorism” make a peaceful settlement of the war more difficult.
Referring to battlefield developments, the Russian president said the pace of his country’s army advance in the area of military operations is increasing. He also claimed that Ukraine’s casualties are greater than the number of troops joining its army through compulsory mobilisation.
The Eastern Economic Forum is held annually in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East and is considered one of the Kremlin’s main platforms for presenting political and economic views. The war in Ukraine has also remained one of the main sources of tension between Moscow and Western countries since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
