Russia’s President calls talks with Clinton constructive

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin called his meeting with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as very constructive. “The discussion was very constructive. The dialogue was on bilateral relations, first of all the trade and economic cooperation, and, of course, on some issues of political character. Of course, we touched upon the problematic issues in the world, in the Middle East, and here, in this region, in Asia,” (Itar-Tass) quoted Putin as saying. Putin refused to comment on the situation in the United States around the upcoming presidential election. “Even if she (Clinton) had told me about the US domestic political situation, I do not consider myself having a right to speak about it in front of this representative and respected audience,” Putin said in response to a question at news conference held on Sunday following the APEC summit in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. Regarding relations with Japan, Russia’s President said that Russia is interested in developing cooperation with its eastern neighbor and resolve all the problems inherited from the past, pointing out that the Japanese Prime Minister will visit Russia to discuss the existing problems in the relations between the two countries in appropriate circumstances.