Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Prime Minister, colleagues,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Russia. Thank you for accepting our invitation to come to Sochi. I am sure that we will have the opportunity today to discuss our bilateral relations and look at the major issues on the international agenda too. If you have time, I would also like to show you how we are getting ready for the 2014 Olympic Games.

I remember how you so kindly accompanied me during the judo events at the London Olympics, and I would like to return that hospitality today and show you around the sites we have built for the 2014 Olympics.

I am very happy to see you. Welcome!

Prime Minister of The United Kingdom David Cameron: Well, thank you very much, Mr President. It’s a great pleasure to be back in Russia and a pleasure to be working with you on improving British-Russian relations, which both you and I, have put a long time into making stronger.

I well remember your visit to the Olympic games and the visit to the judo. And I wanted to come and see the preparations for the games here in Sochi, which I am sure will be a great success. And I am proud that some British companies are helping to provide the facilities.

As you say, today is an opportunity to talk about our bilateral relations, our trading relations, how we improve those. But it’s also an opportunity to talk about some wider issues including the crisis in Syria. And I look forward to discussing all of these things with you today.

I come here with a view, that I know that you share, that stronger British-Russian relations can make our peoples both safer, and also our economies more prosperous.

And I look forward to welcome you back in the United Kingdom for the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland very, very shortly.

Thank you for your welcome today.