Putin Says He’s Hopeful About Renewed US, Russia Engagement

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised early efforts by his US counterpart Donald Trump to ease years of strained ties as officials held talks to restore staffing at diplomatic missions in their countries.

“The first contacts with the new American administration give us some hope,” Putin said in a televised speech to officers from the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet KGB. He highlighted what he called Trump’s “pragmatism.”

Thursday’s meeting by diplomats at the US Consul General’s residence in Istanbul came a week after groundbreaking talks between top Russian officials and their American counterparts in Saudi Arabia that are expected to pave the way for a summit between Trump and Putin. The two delegations ended their talks after more than six hours, state news service Tass reported.

Trump has upended US policy on the war in Ukraine by agreeing to talk with Putin about halting the three-year-old Russian invasion, without the involvement of either Kyiv or Washington’s European allies.

“We understand that not everyone is happy with the resumption of Russian-American contacts,” Putin said, warning “some Western elites” could try to disrupt the dialogue.

The new US administration has refused to condemn Russia’s aggression, and raised the prospect of sanctions relief for Moscow in the event of a peace deal. That’s sparked concerns Washington will seek a deal in line with Kremlin interests, though Trump’s outreach is still being viewed cautiously in Russia as the US president pushes for a quick ceasefire.

The US and Russia reduced diplomatic staffing to skeleton crews over years of tit-for-tat rounds of expulsions over espionage, hacking accusations and eventually Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The two countries decided at the talks last week in Saudi Arabia to restore staffing levels at diplomatic missions and discussed pursuing joint economic opportunities including in Arctic energy projects.

Even before Russia’s invasion, Washington and Moscow carried out several rounds of diplomatic expulsions as relations deteriorated. 

In December 2016, then-President Barack Obama’s administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats in response to alleged hacking of the presidential election that brought Trump to the White House for his first term. Russia has denied the accusations.

Putin initially put off answering that move, giving the first Trump administration a chance to deliver on promises of better relations. However, in July 2017, Congress approved another batch of sanctions, and Russia retaliated by ordering the US to slash staff at its diplomatic missions in Russia by 755, or nearly two-thirds. 

Russia has sought the return of two confiscated diplomatic compounds — one in Maryland and another in New York — that the US said were used for “intelligence-related purposes,” accusations denied by Moscow. The two properties are a former governor’s mansion near Oyster Bay, Long Island, and a sprawling 45-acre compound on the Corsica River in Maryland that includes a Georgian-style mansion with a swimming pool, tennis court and Russian steam bath.