Putin says achieved ‘understanding of each other’ during talks with Obama

HANGZHOU /China/, September 5. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he and U.S. President Barack Obama had managed to reach understanding of each other and of problems facing the two countries. ""We [with Obama] basically had a discussion to look into details. I think we reached understanding of each other and of the problems we both are facing," Putin said at a news conference after the Group of Twenty summit. "Some technical aspects still need further elaboration and if [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry and [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov manage to do it, we will make one more step forward on the problems of Syrian settlement," he said. Commenting on media reports that the meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit had been initiated by the U.S. leader, Putin said he doesn’t think about such things. "Does it matter? As far as I remember Lavror or [Russian president’s aide Yuri] Ushakov came up to me to say that the U.S. side would like to organize a meeting. I have no idea when they arranged it. It matters little, after all. If they want, why shouldn’t we meet," he said. "So, I don’t remember when… Yesterday, we met on the go and exchanged a couple of words to confirm our today’s meeting. And the meeting took place today," Putin noted. The Russian leader underscored that the United States is among Russia’s key partners in the sphere of security and on other issues and Moscow has never been seeking to dodge such contacts. "We had a rather detailed conversation… I don’t remember when I looked at my watch," Putin said, commenting on a video featuring him looking at his wristwatch while leaving the meeting room after the talks with Obama. Read more