President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he sees “light at the end of the tunnel” in Russia-US relations, crediting President Donald Trump’s leadership for offering hope of a thaw after years of strain.
Speaking during a visit to a nuclear research center, Putin said he believed Trump’s approach could help reverse the recent low point in ties between Washington and Moscow.
“With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed,” Putin said. “We had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska.”
Putin added that future progress depends largely on Washington but expressed confidence in Trump’s ability to deliver.
“The next steps now depend on the leadership of the United States, but I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current president, President Trump, are a good guarantee that relations will be restored.”
Meanwhile, Trump said he would give Putin “a couple of weeks” before deciding on possible consequences for Moscow, extending a self-imposed deadline while urging Putin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We’re going to see whether or not they have a meeting,” Trump told reporters. “If they don’t, why didn’t they have a meeting, because I told them to have a meeting. But I’ll know what I am going to do in two weeks.”
The US president said he began pushing for a Putin-Zelenskyy sit-down after separate talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington, followed by a phone call with Putin. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said no such meeting would take place unless Ukraine made concessions.
In a lighter moment during an event about FIFA, Trump brandished a photo of himself with Putin from their Alaska summit.
“Putin sent the picture and I’m going to sign this for him,” Trump said, adding that the Russian leader was “very respectful of me and my country, and not so respectful of others.”
Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Trump has often voiced frustration that despite his efforts, he has not been able to bring the war to an end.
– Ends
With inputs from Agencies
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