He expressed the confidence that Russian-Chinese trade turnover will rise to 200 billion U.S. dollars.

TO MAINTAIN NEW START WITH U.S.

Russia and the United States should base bilateral relations on protecting global security, for which the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) should be maintained, Putin said.

"And if there is no New START, there will be nothing in the world to contain the arms race," he added.

He said that Russia is ready to extend the treaty with the United States, which expires in 2021, but Washington has yet to respond.

Russia is interested in developing and maintaining relations with the United States and will continue doing so, Putin said.

TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH EU

According to Putin, Russia wants to normalize relations with the European Union (EU), as economic sanctions hurt both sides.

"In principle, we are for full normalization," he said.

The EU slapped sanctions on Russia in July and September 2017 in response to an alleged role that Russia had played in conflicts in Eastern Ukraine and then extended them several times.

Russia in response banned imports of foodstuffs and other items from the EU countries.

Putin noted that there are assessments of the damage caused by these sanctions to the EU of 50 billion euros.

He admitted that Russia also suffered losses from sanctions, but said they helped develop some sectors of domestic economy, particularly agriculture.

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