Since Geneva summit some shifts followed, Russia is open to contacts — Putin

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The positions of Russia and the United States turn out to be cardinally different quite often, but Moscow is prepared for contacts and a dialogue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an enlarged board meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday. He said that the Russia-US summit in Geneva in June "eventually tapped some opportunities for a dialogue and for the gradual leveling and correction of relations," and now "it is important for both countries to systematically build up from the achieved agreements." "Certain things are being done in earnest already. This should be admitted. Joint work has begun for strategic stability and information security. True, on many bilateral and international issues our interests, assessments and positions are different, in some cases, cardinally different, and this is well known," Putin said. At the same time, he stressed that Russia was open to contacts and to an exchange of opinions and a constructive dialogue. Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden held talks in Geneva on June 16. It was their first face-to-face meeting and the first Russian-US summit since 2018. In a joint statement the leaders stressed that the two sides were going to launch a comprehensive meaningful and vigorous bilateral dialogue on strategic stability. Also, Moscow and Washington declared the intention to enter into consultations over strategic stability, prisoner exchange and arms control. Currently preparations are underway for more contacts between Putin and Biden, but, as Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, no likely dates had been mentioned yet. Read more