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| Vladimir Putin says he wants to 'cooperate' with Donald Trump in state of the nation address | Vladimir Putin says he wants to 'cooperate' with Donald Trump in state of the nation address |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is "ready to cooperate" with Donald Trump's administration as he struck an unusually conciliatory tone in his annual state of the nation address. | Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is "ready to cooperate" with Donald Trump's administration as he struck an unusually conciliatory tone in his annual state of the nation address. |
| Despite using previous set-piece speeches to attack the West and the United States in particular, Mr Putin said Moscow was looking to make friends, not enemies. | Despite using previous set-piece speeches to attack the West and the United States in particular, Mr Putin said Moscow was looking to make friends, not enemies. |
| "We don't want confrontation with anyone. We don't need it. We are not seeking and have never sought enemies. We need friends," Mr Putin told Russia's political elite, as they gathered in one of the Kremlin's grandest halls. | "We don't want confrontation with anyone. We don't need it. We are not seeking and have never sought enemies. We need friends," Mr Putin told Russia's political elite, as they gathered in one of the Kremlin's grandest halls. |
| "We are ready to cooperate with the new US administration. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security." | "We are ready to cooperate with the new US administration. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security." |
| Any co-operation between the US and Russia would have to be mutually beneficial and even-handed, he added. | Any co-operation between the US and Russia would have to be mutually beneficial and even-handed, he added. |
| Mr Putin has spoken previously of his hope the President-elect may help restore tattered US-Russia relations, and analysts said he was unlikely to want to dial up anti-Western rhetoric before Mr Trump's inauguration in January. | |
| The Russian leader said he was hoping to find common ground with Washington on fighting global terrorism in particular — a reference to Syria, where Moscow is backing President Bashar al-Assad, while the outgoing US administration has supported anti-Assad rebels. | |
| Russia hopes Mr Trump will give the Kremlin a freer hand there and cooperate militarily to fight Isis. | Russia hopes Mr Trump will give the Kremlin a freer hand there and cooperate militarily to fight Isis. |
| However, Mr Putin made it clear Russia would continue to stand up for its own interests and dismissed allegations of Moscow's aggression as "myths". | |
| "We won't allow any infringement on our interests and neglect of them," he said. | |
| "In the last few years. we have faced attempts of foreign pressure with all tools involved — from the myths about Russian aggression, allegations of meddling in elections to the hounding of our athletes." | |
| He added: "We will build our future without advice from anyone else." |