Putin: Bolton’s visit to Moscow gives hope for restoring Russia-US relations

Relations between Moscow and Washington are not in their finest state now because of the domestic political discord gripping America, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with US National Security Adviser John Bolton.

But the president expressed hope that Bolton’s visit to Moscow will be a step towards restoring full-fledged relations with Washington.

"Unfortunately, I have to say that Russian-US relations are not in their best state now," the head of state noted. "I believe that to a great extent this is the result of a bitter internal political struggle in the US," TASS cited him as saying.

Putin hoped that Bolton’s visit to Moscow would be a step towards restoring ties with Washington. "Your visit to Moscow provides us with hope that we will be able to take at least the initial steps towards restoring full-fledged relations between our countries," he noted. "Russia has never sought confrontation," Putin stressed.