Putin says Russia expects U.S. to show reciprocity in respecting national interests

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said his country expects reciprocity from the US concerning respect for each other’s national interests.

“Americans, the American people and the American leadership, including the president, have their own national interests, and we respect that. We assume that we will be treated in the same way,” Putin said in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, an excerpt of which was shared on Telegram.

On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will speak with his Russian counterpart on Monday to discuss stopping the war in Ukraine, days after the first face-to-face talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul.

“THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” he said in a Truth Social post.

Trump added that he would speak with Zelenskiy and various members of NATO afterwards.