Russia never abandoned desire to normalise ties with US, says Putin

A couple of weeks prior to US President-elect Donald Trump assuming office, Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to normalise relations with the United States and other Western countries provided that such efforts do not compromise Russian interests, the state media reported on Sunday.

In an interview with Russian TV and radio outlet VGTRK, Putin said, "It is possible to do everything if there is desire. We have never abandoned this desire."

The Russian President was responding to a question about the possibility for Russia and the United States to normalise their relations, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS.

 

Everything changes in international relations and only interests remain invariable, in this case, "the interests of Russia and its people," the Russian leader stressed.

"If we see that the situation changes in a way that there are opportunities and prospects for building relations with other countries, then we are ready for that. It is not a question of us but it's a question of them. But this should be without detriment to the interests of the Russian Federation," Putin emphasised.

Putin drew from the 19th and 20th centuries to emphasise the changes in international relations and recalled that after the Crimea War of 1853-1856, when a series of restrictions were imposed on Russia, then-Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire Alexander Gorchakov sent out a letter with the following words: "Russia is not angry. Russia is concentrating."

"Gradually, as Russia was concentrating, it returned all its rights in the Black Sea as well, grew stronger and so on," Putin was cited as saying by TASS.

Putin also drew attention to the fact that some historians described the Crimea War as 'World War Zero' as practically all the European powers participated in it against Russia. However, the Russian President said that the situation changed and these same countries were already Russia's allies during World War I.

Previous generations of politicians ruined Russia by choosing to join the so-called civilised world but this was what the West wanted, Putin said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin, state media reported.

Putin pointed out, "as soon as Russia's potential dwindled and it became weaker, they [the West] began to ruin it instead of making it an equitable partner and a participant in this civilized world."

"Unfortunately, this is how the world is arranged, at least today. And if we will build relations with someone, we will build them only on the basis of the interests of the Russian state," Putin said, speaking about the prospect for Russia to normalise relations with the West.

Last week, Russia had issued an advisory for its citizens warning them not to travel to the US and other western countries claiming they could be "hunted" by the authorities in those states, Al Jazeera reported.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was cited by the outlet as describing the US-Russia relations as "on the verge of rupture".

Russian and US diplomats say ties between the two countries are worse than at any time since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis due to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, after wining the 2024 presidential election as the nominee of the Republican Party, US president-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.