普京希望与下任美国总统改善关系
俄罗斯总统普京说，无论谁在明年的美国总统大选中胜出，他都希望改善与美国的关系。
普京在国际记者年度新闻发布会上表示，他准备和任何一位当选的美国总统合作。
他说，本周早些时候他和美国国务卿克里的会谈显示，美国准备朝“解决只有通过共同努力方能解决的问题”的方向发展。
在叙利亚问题上，普京说，俄罗斯将继续开展军事行动，直至政治进程启动。他说，必须让叙利亚人民自己决定由谁来治理这个国家。他还说，他不知道俄罗斯是否需要在叙利亚设立永久军事基地。
在土耳其问题上，普京表示，他看不到与现任土耳其领导人消除紧张关系的可能性。土耳其不久前击落了一架俄罗斯战机。他说，他非常震惊地看到，土耳其非但没有对其行为做出解释，反而转向北约寻求帮助。
谈到乌克兰，普京再次否认俄罗斯军队在东乌克兰境内活动。那里的亲俄罗斯分离主义运动正在与乌克兰政府军作战。但是他说，莫斯科从未否认有人在那里开展属于“军事领域”的行动。他还说，俄罗斯没有制裁乌克兰的计划，但不会让乌克兰享受优惠贸易待遇。
普京对俄罗斯经济做出积极评价。他说，经济已渡过危机，至少渡过了危机的高峰。
Putin Wants Better Relations With Next U.S. President
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he wants to develop better ties with the United States no matter who wins next year's U.S. presidential election.
In his annual news conference with international reporters, Putin said he is ready to work with any president the American people elect.
He said his talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this week indicated that the U.S. is ready to move toward "settling issues that can only be settled through joint efforts."
Regarding Syria, Putin said the Russian military operation will continue until a political process starts. And he said the Syrian people must determine who rules the country. He also said he does not know whether Russia needs a permanent military base in Syria.
On Turkey, which recently shot down a Russian warplane, Putin said he sees no possibility of overcoming the strained ties with the current Turkish leadership. He said he was shocked to see that Turkey hadn't tried to explain its action but turned to help from NATO instead.
And regarding Ukraine, the Russian president again denied that there are Russian troops operating inside eastern Ukraine where a pro-Russian separatist movement is fighting Ukrainian government troops. But he said Moscow never denied that "certain people" were there carrying out tasks "in the military sphere." He said Russia plans no sanctions against Ukraine, but will not extend preferential trade to Kyiv.
Putin had positive things to say about the Russian economy, saying it has "passed the crisis -- at least, the peak of the crisis."
美古接近就恢复商业航班达成协议
美国和古巴官员说，他们已经接近于就恢复美国和古巴之间定期商业航班业务达成协议。这两个冷战对手间的商业航班已经中断了50多年。
两国谈判代表团从星期一开始在华盛顿举行会谈，以最后敲定协议细节。这项谈判已经持续了好几个月。
古巴外交部北美事务司司长维达尔星期三在哈瓦那对记者说，双方就一项谅解备忘录取得了进展，并已接近做出正式宣布。
美国国务院发言人证实，会谈取得了进展，但表示双方代表还在继续谈判。
美国好几家航空公司都已经对开设飞古巴的定期航班表示了兴趣，包括美国航空公司、达美航空公司、美国联合航空公司和捷蓝航空公司。
US, Cuba Near Deal on Restoring Commercial Flights
U.S. and Cuban officials say they are nearing agreement on restoring regular commercial flights between the former Cold War foes after more than 50 years.
Delegations from both nations have been meeting in Washington since Monday to finalize the details of a deal they have been working on for several months.
Josefina Vidal, the director of North American affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, told reporters Wednesday in Havana the two sides have made progress on a memorandum of understanding, and are close to making a formal announcement.
A spokesman for the U.S. State Department confirmed that progress had been made, but said the teams were still negotiating.
Several major U.S. airlines have expressed interest in establishing regular flights to Cuba, including American Airlines, Delta, United and JetBlue.