Vladimir Putin received
in the Kremlin Assistant to the President
of the United States of America for National Security
Affairs John Bolton.
October 23, 2018
18:30
The Kremlin, Moscow
With Assistant to the US
President for National Security Affairs John Bolton.
Taking part in the meeting
from the Russian side were Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
Earlier today, Russian Defence
Minister Sergei Shoigu met with John Bolton. On October 22, Nikolai
Patrushev and Sergei Lavrov also had talks with the Assistant
to the US President.
* * *
Beginning of conversation with
Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs John
Bolton
President of Russia Vladimir
Putin: Mr Bolton, colleagues,
We are pleased to see you
in Moscow.
At the beginning
of our conversation I would like to recall our meeting with
the President of the United States in Helsinki.
In my view, it was a useful, and at times fairly
tough, meeting and conversation which ultimately turned out to be
fruitful, in my opinion.
This is why, to be honest, we
are sometimes perplexed to see the United States take absolutely
unprovoked steps towards Russia that we cannot call friendly. We actually do
not even respond to your steps, yet this approach continues.
Despite your efforts trade between
our countries – however strange it might seem – continues
to grow, 16 percent last year; this year it has already grown by 8
percent. This is small in absolute numbers, very small, of course,
however, this is the trend. With a positive balance
for the United States, by the way. Mutual investments are
also growing with Russian investments in the US economy at twice
the US investments in the Russian economy.
It will, of course, be very
useful to exchange views on the issues of strategic
stability, disarmament issues, and regional conflicts.
We know – and talk
a lot – about the unilateral exit of the United States
from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. We recently heard about
the United States’ intention to exit the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty. We know about the Administration’s doubts about
prolonging New START and hear about the intention to deploy some
elements of the anti-missile defence system in space.
As I recall, there is
a bald eagle pictured on the US coat of arms: it holds 13
arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other
as a symbol of peaceful policy: a branch with 13 olives. My question:
has your eagle already eaten all the olives leaving only the arrows?
In general, I would like
very much to talk with you not only as the Assistant
to the US President, but also as a specialist
on disarmament and arms control.
And, of course, it would be
useful to continue a direct dialogue with the US President,
first of all, on the sidelines of the international
events that will take place soon, such as the one in Paris.
Of course, if the US is interested in such contacts.
Assistant to the President
of the United States of America for National Security
Affairs John Bolton: Well, thank you very much, Mr President. It is
a pleasure to see you again. I appreciate you taking
the time to get together and will be pleased to go over all
the items on the agenda.
And to begin, as you
indicated I think President Trump will look forward to seeing you
in Paris, on the sidelines of the celebration
of the 100th anniversary of the Armistice.
Because despite our differences, which exist because of our different
national interests, it is still important to work in areas where
there is a possibility of mutual cooperation.
And I had discussions with
all of your senior national security advisors in the past two
days, and again, I am grateful for the opportunity
to speak with you on behalf of President Trump.
And hopefully, I’ll have some answers for you, but I didn’t
bring any olives.
Vladimir Putin: My thoughts
exactly.
(Laughter.)
John Bolton: The olive
branch is held in the right talon of the eagle,
demonstrating its priority.
Vladimir Putin: If
I remember correctly, there is also an inscription: In Varietate
Concordia, United in Diversity. This is why, despite different approaches,
we can and should look for points of contact.
John Bolton: That’s very much
our intention, though our motto is “E pluribus unum,” “Out of many, one,”
so maybe it is something to look forward to there.
<…>
See also
July 16, 2018
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