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Putin calls summit first step towards â€˜clearing backlogâ€™ in Russia-US relations

16 July 2018 17:44 (UTC +04:00)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his summit talks with US President Donald Trump the first move towards "clearing the backlog" of problems in relations between the two countries, APA reported citing TASS agency.

"Of course, numerous problems persist, and we have failed to clear the backlog in full, it was impossible to do this, but I believe we have made the first important step in that direction," Putin told a news conference after the summit talks in Helsinki on Monday.

Putin said he is satisfied with results of his talks with Trump.

"The talks with President of the United States Mr. Donald Trump were held in a frank, business-like atmosphere," he said. "I view them as successful and useful."

Putin is sure that Russia and the United States must join forces to combat common threats.

"Today, both Russia and the USA face completely different challenges: dangerous unbalancing of international security and stability mechanisms, regional crises, spread of terrorism and transboundary crime, criminality, increase of global economy problems, ecological and other risks. We can tackle all this only by joining forces," the Russian leader stressed during the press conference on the outcomes of the Russia-US summit.

"I hope we and our American partners will understand this," Putin noted.

According to Putin, "today’s talks have reflected that President Trump and I are both interested in fixing the negative state of our bilateral relations, outlining the first steps for their improvement, restoring an acceptable level of trust and returning to former levels of cooperation on all issues of mutual interest."

Moscow and Washington have the necessary components for cooperation in settling the Syrian situation and can take up leadership in assisting efforts for overcoming the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Putin said.

"Russia and the United States can undoubtedly assume leadership on this issue and organize interaction in overcoming the humanitarian crisis and help refugees return to their homes," Putin said, stressing that Russia and the US had all the necessary components for interaction on Syria.