Vladimir Putin wants new start with Donald Trump

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin struck an unusually conciliatory tone in his annual state of the nation address on Thursday saying Moscow wanted to get on with the incoming US administration and was looking to make friends not enemies.

Mr Putin has used previous set-piece speeches to lash out at the West and the US in particular, but he reined in his criticism this time round and focused most of his speech on domestic social and economic issues.

“We don’t want confrontation with anyone. We don’t need it. We are not seeking and have never sought enemies. We need friends,” Mr Putin told Russia’s political elite gathered in one of the Kremlin’s grandest halls.

“We are ready to cooperate with the new U.S. administration. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security.”

Any US-Russia co-operation would have to be mutually beneficial and even-handed, he said.

Mr Putin has spoken previously of his hope that US President-elect Donald Trump may help restore tattered US-Russia relations, and analysts said he was unlikely to want to dial up anti-Western rhetoric before Mr Trump’s inauguration in January.

The Russian leader said he was hoping to find common ground with Washington on fighting global terrorism in particular. That was a reference to Syria where Moscow is backing President Bashar al-Assad.