President Vladimir Putin and the United States’ relationship with Russia were prominent topics of discussion during the general election between President-elect Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Now that the dust has settled, Putin called Trump on Monday to congratulate him on his victory and to discuss how the two countries will move forward.
Trump’s transition team released a statement saying that both parties spoke about “a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical U.S.-Russia relationship that dates back over 200 years.” Putin also “underlined, in particular, the importance of creating a solid foundation of bilateral ties through the development of their trade and economic components.” In addition, Putin commented that he looks forward to working with the Trump administration to focus on “principles of equality, mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other.” Also, he added that there needs to be a return to “pragmatic, mutually beneficial cooperation, which would meet the interests of both countries, stability and security through the world.”
Trump criticized Obama’s relationship with Putin and Russia throughout the campaign season, and he ran a campaign reassuring that he was going to have a stronger relationship with Russia than Obama has had.