Putin Plans to Continue ‘Reset’ Policy with Washington

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to continue positive trends in the relations with the United States developed as a result of the “reset” policy announced in 2008, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Putin met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico. The two leaders discussed a host of issues, including Russia’s support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, which is one of the biggest areas of tension between Moscow and Washington.

“President Putin has praised the positive work in the past four years and said he intended to continue all positive processes that had been started,” Peskov told reporters after the meeting.

Peskov said that both leaders did not attempt to avoid the most sensitive issues and carried out an open-minded dialogue.

“The meeting was very positive…The dialogue was not confrontational. It was constructive and very open,” he said.

“The notion that current disagreements on certain issues should not be stumbling blocks [in development of bilateral relations] dominated the meeting,” the official said.

Putin and Obama met for the first time since the Russian leader returned to the presidency in May.

Obama expressed hope on Monday that he and Putin could “find constructive ways to manage through any bilateral tensions.”

 

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