Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to journalists during a visit to St. Petersburg, addressing the state of Russian-American negotiations. He expressed a willingness to meet with US President Donald Trump, but emphasized the need for preparation to find acceptable solutions to the many open questions.
Putin thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the country and announced that he would call the crown prince in the coming days to personally convey his gratitude.
When asked about the timeline for concrete results from the negotiations and the realistic timeframe of half a year set by Trump for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said that the current timeline is unknown, but emphasized that Russia prioritizes the solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
The president reiterated that Russia has never refused to negotiate with Ukraine and Europe, but rather that Kiev and Europe have broken off or prohibited contacts. Washington currently assumes that the negotiations will involve both Russia and Ukraine, with no one excluding Kiev, Putin stressed.
The Ukraine issue is not the only topic of the Russian-American talks, the president underlined, citing the recent Riad meeting as a first step towards re-establishing dialogue in areas of common interest, such as the Middle East, international oil trade and the global energy market, as well as in space and other areas. The goal of the meeting in Riad was to restore trust.
“The most important thing in handling all very acute questions, including the Ukraine crisis, is that it is simply impossible to solve many questions, including the Ukraine crisis, without strengthening the trust between Russia and the United States” Putin said.
The desire for a meeting comes from both sides and no mediator is needed, the president added.
When asked about the time required for the preparation of a personal meeting between the two presidents, Putin declined to comment, only stating that the wish is to hold such a meeting.