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Cooperation in the Arctic and the resumption of region-to-region contacts, including between the Russian Far East and the West Coast of the U.S.A, also appear relevant.
Overall, it is crucial and necessary that our countries turn the page and get back to cooperation.
Symbolically, as I have already said, there is an international date line nearby, on the border between Russia and the United States, where you can literally step from one day into another. I hope that we can do the same in political affairs.
I would like to thank Mr. Trump for our joint work and for the friendly and trust-based conversation. The main thing is that there was a commitment on both sides to produce a result. We see that the U.S. President has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve, that he sincerely cares about his country’s prosperity while showing awareness of Russia’s national interests.
I hope that today’s agreements will become a reference point, not only for resolving the Ukrainian problem but also for resuming the pragmatic business relations between Russia and the United States.
To conclude, I would like to add the following. I remember that in 2022, during my last contacts with the former U.S. Administration, I tried to convince my former U.S. counterpart that we should not bring the situation to a point fraught with serious repercussions in the form of hostilities, and I said directly at the time that it would be a big mistake.
Today, we hear President Trump saying: “If I had been President, there would have been no war.” I believe it would have been so. I confirm this because President Trump and I have established a generally very good, business-like and trustworthy contact. And I have every reason to believe that, as we move along this path, we can reach -- and the sooner the better -- the end of the conflict in Ukraine.
Thank you for the attention. - Vladimir Putin

Original Text, Audio, Video, Image #2 Source: en.kremlin.ru

Page Created: 8/20/25

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