Putin gave Russia-US relations a maximum score of 3 points.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: TASS

Sources reported on March 11th that President Putin believes the current state of relations between Russia and the United States is between 2 and 3 on a 5-point scale. In an interview for the project "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin," when asked about his views on the current state of relations between Moscow and Washington, he stated: "I would give it a 3. Between 2 and 3 points. However, closer to 3 points."

Among the positive aspects of Russia-US relations, Putin mentioned cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the growth in bilateral trade over the past two years.

The Russian leader disagreed with the argument that the US could enjoy special privileges in the world. Speaking about his relationship with former US President Barack Obama, Putin recalled that his counterpart at the time held precisely that view.

“He said that America is an exceptional country, with special privileges and advantages in the world. I cannot agree. God created us all equal and gave us equal rights. Therefore, I think it is completely unfounded to say that some people should have special privileges regarding anything,” Putin stated.

When discussing his relationships with successive US presidents, Putin said that his current American counterpart is Donald Trump and they usually address each other by their first names. "He calls me Vladimir, I call him Donald," Putin stated.

Putin admitted it was difficult to say which of the U.S. presidents since Bill Clinton, who left the White House in January 2001, had made him feel most comfortable. “I had quite constructive relationships with each of them,” he shared. In particular, the Russian leader said he had a “good relationship” with George W. Bush, the U.S. president from 2001 to 2009.

Putin and Trump, who moved into the White House in January 2017, have had several meetings on the sidelines of major international forums. To date, the two leaders have only held one comprehensive bilateral summit, which took place in Helsinki in July 2018. In addition, they have also held numerous telephone conversations. Their most recent meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019.