VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 12 (Interfax) - There will be no drastic change on the Russia track of the U.S. policy no matter who becomes the U.S. president, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Why should we think about this? I think there will be no drastic change on the Russia track of the U.S. foreign policy no matter who is elected president," Putin said at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday.
"True, we have heard Mr. Trump's promises to solve pressing problems, including the Ukraine crisis, within days, well, this cannot but please me, this is good," Putin said.
Putin said Trump was the one who imposed the largest number of sanctions on Russia during his presidency. "By the way, even though they accused him of having a special relationship with Russia, which is complete nonsense, he imposed sanctions on Russia more than anyone else while he was president. Therefore, it is difficult to say what to expect from the future president, no matter who the president is, but it is unlikely that anything will change radically," he said.
The current U.S. authorities have turned the American public against Russia. "They have done that and will find it very difficult to turn this 'ship' back," Putin said.
They view Russia as a permanent adversary or even an enemy, instilling this idea into the minds of average Americans, Putin said. "This is bad because it creates a particular public sentiment despite the fact that there are lots of people in America wishing to build good, amicable, business relations with us and even sharing many of our ideas, of course, first and foremost, the wish to preserve traditional values," he said, adding that such people are silenced.
Hence, no matter who is elected president of the United States, the anti-Russian policy of the U.S. is unlikely to change its vector, Putin said.