Putin Optimistic About Russia-US Relations: Sees ‘Light at the End of the Tunnel’

Russian President Vladimir Putin showed renewed hope on Friday concerning Russia-US relations, indicating that there is a light at the end of the tunnel in relations that have hit an all-time low in years, as the two nations move towards possible cooperation on initiatives in the Arctic and Alaska.

"For our relations with the United States, they are lower than can be imagined. I have said so repeatedly. But now that President (Donald) Trump has entered office, there is light at the end of the tunnel," Putin said in televised comments at a meeting with nuclear industry specialists in Sarov, the cradle of the Soviet atomic programme.

Moscow-Washington relations have deteriorated considerably on issues such as the conflict in Ukraine, NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, and sanctions against Russia.

Putin stated that Russia and the US are exploring the possibility of cooperation in the Arctic and Alaska. "We are negotiating with our American friends the possibility of cooperation in this sphere, not just in our Arctic region but also in Alaska," he said.

Previously, Putin had endorsed President Trump's assertion after the Alaska Summit on August 15 that the war in Ukraine would not have been initiated if Trump were president. Before the summit, he had informed aides that Trump was serious about ending the Ukraine crisis and that Moscow has to talk to his administration.

Putin made these comments on the 80th anniversary of Russia's nuclear industry on his trip to Sarov in the Volga part of Nizhny-Novgorod. The closed city, originally Arzamas-16, was where the Soviet Union created its first atomic and hydrogen bombs and where physicist and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov was kept in internal exile until he was freed by Mikhail Gorbachev during the Perestroika reforms.

Putting forward the relevance of Russia's sovereignty, Putin asserted, "There are states that can quite well exist without sovereignty. Today, all Western Europe in fact has no sovereignty. There are also numerous other states that are fine with that. However, it's not for Russia: if Russia loses sovereignty, it will stop existing in this current form."

He also thanked Russian nuclear experts for creating the nation's nuclear umbrella, under which there was possible technological progress. "The nuclear industry is still one of the most significant sectors for us," Putin said. He also pointed to Artificial Intelligence as Russia's next grand challenge, emphasizing the importance of the nation leading in AI-based leading-edge technologies.