Moscow hopes that the upcoming summit of the Russian and US presidents in Helsinki will allow to take a step away from the current crisis in bilateral relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT broadcaster in an interview.
“This is what we really hope for — that this summit will allow us to make at least a small step away from the crisis, which our bilateral relations are currently facing,” Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are expected to meet in the Finnish capital on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and various issues on the international agenda. The summit will be their first full-fledged meeting since Trump took office in January 2017.
According to Peskov, Russia is not taken aback by the principle proclaimed by Trump stating that the US interests have a primary importance for Washington.
“This principle is relevant for any head of state, because any head of state in contacts with foreign counterparts primarily defends the interests of his own country, and in this respect our president is very pragmatic, open and very consistent, he always says that the interests of Russia and the Russian people are the most important for him, and therefore he respects the fact that his worldview is being similarly shared by Donald Trump in relation to his country,” Peskov said.
“Another thing is that such an approach is viable only in combination with another postulate — when such an approach is based on a commitment to developing mutually beneficial cooperation taking into account each other’s interests. This all together can give certain prerequisites for the development of cooperation,” the spokesman added.
Source: Sputnik
