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Vladimir Putin: Mr Kissinger,

I am happy to welcome you here in Moscow.

I remember your hospitality in the United States. I am not sure we will be able to match your hospitality, but we will try.

But one thing I do not doubt is that we will have a conversation that is as interesting and deep as the conversation we had during our meeting in New York.

As you can see, we are trying to develop the fundamental provisions that were established by you as the foundation of Russian-American relations.

I maintain good personal relations with President George W. Bush, and we have a great deal in common. We follow the internal political situation in the United States with interest, we noted the main points of the President's speech in Congress in January and the State Secretary's idea of developing partnership. This fully corresponds to our ideas on the principles of developing our relations with the United States.

I would be very interested to talk to you as an expert, as I did the last time we met in New York, on a wide range of issues that concern the United States, the Russian Federation, and the development of the situation in the world as a whole.