‘Russia is Ready to Talk’: Putin Expects to Rebuild Ties with Other Nations
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President Vladimir Putin hinted at the potential for thawing relations with South Korea and other Western countries, which have been icy since the Ukraine war.
Russian daily Ria Novosti reported on the 4th (local time) that President Putin expressed his willingness to improve relations with ambassadors from South Korea, Germany, Sweden, Luxembourg, Australia, and the UK at the credential presentation ceremony of 21 new ambassadors at the Kremlin in Moscow.
In his address at the event, President Putin articulated Russia’s stance on maintaining an independent policy and being open to collaboration while rejecting confrontational politics. He stressed the expectation of equality and mutual benefit in international partnerships.
President Putin also clearly expressed his willingness to improve relations with Germany, with whom Russia had close cooperation in the energy sector until the Ukraine war. He told the German ambassador, “The unintentional cooling of relations between the two countries is not beneficial to Russia or Germany. (Before the war) The relationship between the two countries brought benefits not only to the two countries but also to the whole of Europe,” indirectly expressing his willingness to resume energy cooperation.
He emphasized the need to strengthen energy cooperation with Turkey and Kazakhstan, with whom Russia has historically had deep friendly relations but which have cooled since the Ukraine war.
In his conversation with the Turkish ambassador, President Putin highlighted Rosatom’s role, a Russian state-owned nuclear company, in building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu. He also mentioned their involvement in gas distribution projects like the Stream gas pipeline. Putin emphasized the strategic importance of the collaboration between Russia and Turkey in the energy sector.
Furthermore, he reminded the Kazakh ambassador of his upcoming meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in St. Petersburg at the end of this month, stressing, “We are building our interaction with Kazakhstan constructively within international platforms like the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). We will do our best to ensure Kazakhstan can take over the Collective Security Treaty Organization chairmanship and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization next year.”
By. Kim Min Kyu
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