Russia's president also walked
back praise of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he
accepted the United States was probably still the world's sole superpower and
he was ready to work with whoever won the presidency, but didn't want to be
told how to live by Americans.
Putin's comments follow a rocky period in U.S.-Russia
relations, which have been undermined by disagreements over issues such as
Ukraine and Syria.
Putin reiterated criticism of what he said was the
misguided role of the United States in Ukraine's affairs and said he opposed
what he cast as U.S. efforts to prevent Russia from repairing its relations
with the European Union.
But he had some positive words too.
"America is a great power—today probably the only
superpower. We accept that," Putin said at the St Petersburg International
Economic Forum. "We want to and are ready to work with the United
States."
Asked about Donald Trump, Putin appeared to play down
positive comments he had made about the Republican contender in the past,
saying those had been misinterpreted.
In December, Putin described Trump as "very
flamboyant", "very talented" and "an absolute leader in the
presidential race."
Those comments, along with warm words from Trump about
Putin, have fueled speculation the Kremlin would be pleased to see Trump in the
White House.
But on Friday Putin said he had only described Trump
as "flamboyant."
"He is, isn't he?" said Putin with a smile.
"I did not give any other assessment of him."
Putin said he welcomed Trump's desire to restore
U.S.-Russia ties. "What's wrong with that?" Putin asked, drawing
applause from the audience.
He appeared keen however to hedge Russia's bets by
avoiding the impression he was taking sides, and also emphasized his "warm
relations" with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose wife Hillary is
running for the White House.
Putin said he was grateful for the attention and
respect Bill Clinton had shown to Russia and Putin personally.
He had less to say about Hillary Clinton though,
saying he had never worked with her directly.
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