When asked what the Kremlin thinks about Donald Trump calling Vladimir Putin a ‘competitor,’ the Russian president’s adviser said that Moscow considers the US president to be ‘a partner.’
Yury Ushakov told journalists ahead of the forthcoming summit in Helsinki that even the holding of the meeting itself is important for establishing “the chemistry of relations” between the two leaders.
“We treat them as partners,” Ushakov told journalists, commenting on the US president’s earlier statements, in which he called Putin a “competitor.” He then went on to say that Moscow expected that the summit of the two leaders would lay the ground for the normalization of bilateral relations.
“The goal of this meeting, as we see it, is to finally start changing the negative situation in relations between the US and Russia for the better,” the Russian president’s aide said, adding that it should involve “some concrete steps aimed at … bringing mutual trust to some acceptable level.” He also said that the sides could focus on “mutually beneficial cooperation on the issues of mutual interest.”
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