Putin sees the 'light at the end of tunnel' for Russia-US relations, and cooperation in Arctic Alaska

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia and the United States, said that "light is at the end" of the tunnel in Russia-U.S. Relations and that both countries are discussing joint projects for the Arctic and Alaska.

In response to questions from reporters during a tour of a nuclear research center, the Russian president said that he believed Donald Trump's leadership skills would be instrumental in helping to restore relations.

"I think the light at the end has finally appeared with the arrival of Donald Trump." "We had a good, meaningful, and frank summit in Alaska," Putin said.

"The next step depends on the leadership in the United States. I am confident, however, that the leadership qualities of President Trump are a good assurance that relations will be repaired."

His comments showed that Russia is confident it can repair relations with the U.S., and make business deals despite the fact that there was no clear progress made towards the end of the Ukraine conflict during his 15 August summit with Trump.

Putin didn't give any details about possible U.S. and Russian cooperation in the Arctic, but he said that there are "huge" mineral deposits in the area. He also noted that Russian liquefied gas company Novatek is already operating in the region.

"We are, of course, discussing with American partners, the possibility of cooperating in this field. Not only in the Arctic, but also Alaska. At the same time, we are the only ones who have the technology. This is also of interest to all our partners including those in the United States," said he.

Both Russia and the United States say they see huge economic opportunities if normalising relations can be achieved after their ties were brought to a post Cold War low due to the war in Ukraine. (Additional reporting from Vladimir Soldatkin and Ksenia orlova; Writing by Marktrevelyan; Editing Edmund Klamann.)

(source: Reuters)