Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to reporters during a trip to St. Petersburg on Wednesday and said his potential meeting with US President Donald Trump would need to be well prepared so they could reach agreements on issues including Ukraine.

He also said the recent Ukrainian attack on an oil pumping station of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium in southern Russia will cause energy prices on world markets to spike and hold high, much to the chagrin of consumers.

Talks in Riyadh

America was represented by "completely different people" at the talks in Riyadh, who were open to dialog and determined to work together. Putin said he highly appreciated the talks: "There is a result."

Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the US, it will be impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis. "What was the purpose of this meeting is to build up trust between the Russia and the US." The atmosphere of the talks in Riyadh was "very friendly."

The Russian and US delegations in Riyadh discussed, among other things, economic issues and cooperation between the countries in space: "Work continues, and the prospects are good."

Russia and the US "made the first step" to cooperate on the Middle East, including Syria and Palestine: "There are a lot of issues there where both the United States and the Russian Federation are involved."

Moscow and Washington are also facing a decision on whether to extend the New START: "Everyone has probably forgotten this. I will remind you that in exactly one year, in February, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty will expire."

Russia will inform BRICS countries "in the very near future" about the results of Tuesday’s talks with the US: "We know they are interested in the settlement of Russian-Ukrainian relations and the cessation of hostilities. We treat their proposals with respect."

Ukraine

Russia treats the situation around Ukraine as a priority. Moscow "has never refused" a dialog: "It is our partners in these negotiations who have refused. The Europeans have stopped communicating with Russia, and the Ukrainian side has banned itself from negotiating."

The US said that the talks should involve both Russia and Ukraine: "As for the negotiation process, Trump told me in a phone conversation, I can confirm that, of course, the United States assumes that the negotiation process will involve both Russia and Ukraine."

Kiev's hysteria over being denied a seat at the negotiating table of Russia and the US is inappropriate: "Do they want to sit here at the negotiating table and mediate between Russia and the US?" The subject of the talks in Riyadh was the restoration of Russian-American relations, he said. Moscow and Washington do not need mediators in this, as it would be an "excessive requirement," according to the president.

Trump promised to quickly solve the Ukrainian crisis, but changed his position when he gained access to more data after assuming presidency, which is "absolutely natural."

Potential meeting Trump / Putin

The upcoming meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump needs to be prepared thoroughly: "How much time it will take, I am not ready to answer now, but we have a desire to hold such a meeting."

It is not enough for the meeting with Trump just to happen: "We need to make sure that our teams prepare issues that are extremely important for both the US and Russia, including on the Ukrainian track."

Russian, US diplomats

Russia and the US "agreed to resume the work of diplomatic missions in a normal mode." Expulsions of Russian and US diplomats do no good: "If things continue like this, we will have only cleaners working in these buildings, whose labor should no doubt be appreciated, but this is not what diplomatic missions are created for."

Special operation

Soldiers of the 810th brigade of the Russian Armed Forces crossed the border with Ukraine in the Kursk Region overnight and entered the enemy's territory.

Russian troops are advancing "along the entire line of engagement."

Ukrainian strike on Caspian oil link

Ukrainian forces could not have accomplished an attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium on their own. The attack looks like a effort made in coordination with Europe: "But I don't want to believe it." Such attacks are impossible without satellite reconnaissance. Kiev gets satellite reconnaissance data solely from its Western allies.

The pipeline was not and still is not protected by Russian air defenses: "We assumed that it can’t be a target of an attack. This is not, strictly speaking, a Russian facility. It is a facility of international energy infrastructure."

Russia gets "peanuts" for transit through the CPC, and all the oil in the pipeline belongs to American and European companies. The attack on the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station will affect global energy markets: "This leads to consistently high energy prices on world markets, which energy consumers, such as European companies, are certainly not interested in." The current US administration "has also repeatedly announced that it seeks to stabilize or even lower energy prices."

As a result of the attack, Western equipment was damaged and cannot be quickly repaired. In addition, the Europeans have extended sanctions against Russia, including on the supply of Western equipment in the field of oil and gas production, which means that now the equipment "will not be supplied at all."

EU-US relations

Europe itself is to blame for the current strained relations with the US. During the last election campaign, "all European leaders, without exception, in effect directly interfered in the US election process, going so far as to directly insult one of the candidates."

Trump's demeanor toward "allies who behaved, to put it bluntly, in boorish manner" can be called reserved.

Moscow did not allow itself any harsh statements or insulting outbursts against anyone, although "of course it was clear who appealed to us."

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