The Russian President said there was no way of knowing if Russia had benefited from Donald Trump’s presidency, but promised to work with the current administration no matter what. Politics knows no ‘what ifs,’ he added.

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“The United States is a great power, and leads the world in many respects,” said the Russian leader, who had been asked repeatedly about relations between Moscow and Washington during the Russian Energy Week International Forum. “We consider it our natural partner on a whole range of issues, including security, non-proliferation, anti-terrorism and environmental solutions.

“I don’t know if it would have been better or worse if Trump hadn’t won the election – there are no 'what ifs' in politics, and we will work with what we have,” he told the audience during the open session in Moscow.

Putin said that he hoped to sway Trump towards signing the Paris climate accord, which the US has exited under the current administration. He agreed with his US counterpart that oil prices, which are inching upwards to $100 per barrel, are too high; but said that America’s Iran sanctions were contributing to the volatility.

The Russian president also hoped that the “nonsense” of the Russia election meddling probe would soon be put to bed, and urged Trump to “restore internal balance” to American politics.

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