Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" in relations between Moscow and Washington, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Putin told journalists during a visit to a nuclear research center that he was sure that the leadership qualities of his American counterpart Donald Trump would help restore bilateral ties.
"As for our relations with the US, they are at an extremely low level... I have already spoken about this many times. But with the arrival of President Trump, I think that there is still light at the end of the tunnel," Putin noted. "The next steps depend on the leadership of the United States, but I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current President Trump are a good guarantee that relations will be restored", the Russian head of state added.
He described the summit in Alaska as "very good, meaningful and frank". "Contacts continue at the level of ministries, departments and companies", the Russian president said, quoted by TASS.
"We have several companies, including "Novotep" - one of our large companies, which works in the field of liquefaction of natural gas," he noted. "At the same time, this activity is carried out in cooperation with many partners - both European and Asian", the Russian leader continued.
According to him, Russia does not have "hostile countries", but only "hostile elites in some countries".
Putin stressed that it is extremely important for Russia to preserve its sovereignty. "There are countries that peacefully exist without sovereignty", Putin explained. "Russia cannot, with the loss of sovereignty Russia will cease to exist in its current form. This is absolutely certain," he added.