President Putin sends personal letter to Biden, wishes him Happy New Year, appeals for closer Moscow - Washington cooperation

Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin has written to the President-elect of the United States of America, Joe Biden to wish him a happy new year.

President Putin expressed confidence that they would soon work together to build improved relations “in the spirit of equality.”

Russian leader's congratulations are part of a series of personalized letters he has sent to other leading world heads of state and politicians, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former US President George W. Bush, and the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II.

Putin, in his message to Biden, noted that “the coronavirus pandemic and other challenges the world faced in the past year have confirmed the demand for broad international cooperation.” 

He also stated that Russia and the US could do a lot more to strengthen stability and security “at regional and global levels.”

The Russian president also wished outgoing US President Donald Trump “good health, good spirits, and prosperity,” as well as “happiness and prosperity to all US citizens.”

The U.S President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as on January 20 into the White House. 

During the four-year-term of the outgoing President Donald Trump, the Washington-Moscow relationship has deteriorated significantly, and the Kremlin is keen to improve cooperation between the two capitals. 

Therefore, Putin hopes the parties will see eye-to-eye on arms control issues, the cause of much disagreement in the last few years.

Since Trump took office in 2017, he has pulled the US out of international agreements such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and the Open Skies Treaty as well as the Iranian Nuclear Deal. 

On February 5, a fortnight after Biden is due to take office, the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty will expire. Moscow has repeatedly asked Trump for an extension, which has been denied every time. 

American president-elect has voiced his support for the deal, having attacked Trump for pulling out, but the Kremlin and the White House will need to get to work quickly to get the extension signed in time.

With RT