"President Trump's meeting is a pleasure, but much work remains to be done – Vladimir Putin"

"President Trump's meeting is a pleasure, but much work remains to be done – Vladimir Putin"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he would meet his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, "with pleasure."

Speaking to reporters in St. Petersburg, Putin said that if such a meeting were to take place, it would need to be well-prepared. He also mentioned that several issues need to be worked out before meeting Trump.

Putin admitted that he and Trump have "no close relationship" and that they "haven't seen each other in a long time."

However, the Russian President believes that Trump also wants to meet him.

"But that is not enough," Putin said, adding, "Both leaders and their teams need to work on several key issues before such talks can take place."

"This is not an easy task," he added.