Putin says ready for direct dialogue with Trump

MOSCOW, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is ready to meet with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and discuss bilateral relations and multiple issues on the international agenda.

"I don't know if there is going to be a meeting between us. I have said many times that we are ready, and we believe that there are issues we must discuss together," Putin said at his annual press conference.

He said the two sides need to discuss the bilateral relations which both Moscow and Washington are interested in, as well as issues regarding the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan, global security, arms control and many others in the world.

"I hope that something is going to be corrected, as in fact we have reached the bottom of our relations and we should understand that there is a necessity to go up from this bottom, take a breath of fresh air and to think with a clear head on how to live further," Putin said.

Last month, following the cancellation of a meeting between the leaders in Paris, Trump called off another previously scheduled meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. Trump's calling off the meeting was denounced by Moscow as a result of U.S. internal politics.

Putin also expressed his concern over the influence brought by a change of power in U.S. Congress on the prospects of direct dialogue between the leaders.

"We can predict new attacks on the incumbent president with nearly 100 percent of certainty. I don't know if he will be able to start a direct dialogue with Russia in these conditions," Putin said.

On November 6, Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, shifting the power balance from a Congress that was solely controlled by the Republican Party to one controlled by both parties.

Experts predict that the Democrats will intensify scrutiny of Trump's relations with Russia, which could put the U.S. president in a more difficult position to adjust policies toward the country.

"Whatever happens, we have to build up bilateral relations and we are ready for it. We will start doing it as soon as the opposite part is ready," Putin said.