ST. PETERSBURG. June 16 (Interfax) - Russia and the United States currently have no ongoing contacts, but Moscow is ready for them, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"As for contacts [with the U.S.], we virtually have no contacts, but we have not refused them," Putin said at a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"If there is a wish to maintain some kind of dialogue with us, go ahead," Putin said.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that Washington is not interested in such dialogue. "They simply swapped this dialogue for arms supplies [to Ukraine]. We'll destroy everything they've delivered there first, and then we'll see what they do next," Putin said.
"It would have been better if they followed a different path, and were looking for peaceful ways to resolve the dispute. But so far it has not come to this. We see that they're trying to win on the battlefield. Let them try, we will see how successful they are. They're not succeeding yet. And it's unlikely that they will," Putin said.