Listen to this articleThe Russian President Vladimir Putin forwarded a New Year letter to Donald Trump. He said in his letter that Russia is ready for dialogue on a wide-ranging agenda. Putin also stressed that the relations between Russia and the United States are the most important factor for providing strategic stability and international security. He confirmed that Russia is open for dialogue with the U.S on the most wide-ranging agenda.
It follows a series of failed attempts to hold a new summit between the two leaders, including a planned meeting at November’s G20 in Argentina that Trump abruptly canceled, following tensions in Ukraine. Trump and Putin also failed to hold a fully-fledged meeting in Paris that same month on the sidelines of the centenary commemoration of the Armistice. Both leaders held their one and only summit in Helsinki in July, which was widely considered to have been disastrous for Trump and his reputation at home and abroad.
Moscow has said one of the key issues it wanted to discuss with the United States is Washington’s plans to withdraw from a Cold War-era nuclear arms pact. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying it was now up to the U.S whether to hold a new meeting in 2019. TASS news agency quoted Lavrov as saying in televised remarks, “The issue should be addressed to Washington. Both our president and his representatives have said that we are ready for the talks when Washington is ready for it”.
Putin pledged in a separate letter to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad for the continuation of aid to the Syrian government and people in the fight against terrorism and in defense of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Putin also sent New Year greetings to other world leaders including Theresa May and Japan’s Shinzo Abe, and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
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