Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a meeting of the Federal Security Service Board on Jan. 27, and presented a concise summary of where things stand with the U.S.-Russia dialogue, and where he sees it going. Putin said there is “pragmatism” and the first contacts “inspire certain hopes.” And he noted that “not everyone is happy to see Russia-U.S. contacts resume. A portion of Western elites are still committed to maintaining instability.” The key excerpts follow:
“You see, and we all see how rapidly the world and the international situation are changing. In this regard, I would like to note that the first contacts with the new U.S. administration inspire certain hopes. There is a reciprocal commitment to work to restore interstate relations and to gradually address the enormous amount of systemic and strategic problems in the global architecture which once provoked the crises in Ukraine and other regions.
“Importantly, our partners demonstrate pragmatism and a realistic vision of things, and have abandoned numerous stereotypes, the so-called rules, and messianic, ideological clichés of their predecessors, which, in fact, caused the crisis of the entire system of international relations and, in fact, you and I can see it too, began to destroy the Western community itself from within. This is evidenced by problems in the economy and the domestic politics of many Western countries. We see it all. This is especially evident in the domestic political events unfolding in these countries.
“Today’s dynamic changes in the international landscape are to a great extent the result of the courage and fortitude of our Armed Forces, our heroes. Through their valor and daily victories, they have created the conditions for the beginning of a serious dialogue, a dialogue on bringing a fundamental solution to Ukraine crisis, among others, including, of course—we always talk about it, and we have never refused to do so—by peaceful means; a dialogue on creating a system that will truly ensure a balance and mutual consideration of interests, an indivisible European and global security system for the long term, where the security of some countries cannot be ensured at the expense or to the detriment of the security of other countries, definitely not Russia.
“We realize that not everyone is happy to see Russia-U.S. contacts resume. A portion of Western elites are still committed to maintaining instability in the world, and these forces will try to disrupt or to compromise the newly resumed dialogue. You and I see this. We need to keep this in mind and leverage every possibility offered by diplomacy and special services to thwart such attempts.”
