Ignoring Obama, Putin Wishes Trump a Happy New Year

(Baonghean.vn) - Russian President Putin wished a happy new year to US President-elect Donald Trump, not incumbent President Barack Obama, in his annual New Year's address to heads of state.

From left to right: Incumbent US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: CNN.

In his annual New Year's address, Putin expressed hope that after Trump's inauguration on January 20, Russia and the United States "acting in a constructive and practical manner will be able to take real steps to restore bilateral cooperation mechanisms in various areas and bring interaction on the international stage to a completely new level."

The direct message Putin sent to Trump sent by the Kremlin on December 30 said: "The major global and regional challenges that countries have faced in recent years clearly confirm that Russian-American relations are an important factor in ensuring stability and security in the modern world."

In his New Year's speech, Mr. Putin also sent his greetings to Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many other heads of state.

Former heads of state and politicians including former US Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also received congratulations from the Russian President.

Obama, the current White House chief, was not mentioned in Putin’s message this year. However, it is known that Putin sent his best wishes to Obama, his family and the American people in a separate statement on December 30, in response to the new wave of US sanctions against Russia.

Phu Binh

(According to CNN)