President Vladimir Putin said that U.S. pressure makes it difficult for him to come to agreements with European leaders, adding that he considers Russia fundamentally European.
Europeans "even at home speak in whispers, afraid that the Americans are listening in," Putin said during his live call-in show Thursday, in reference to .
Putin added that it was difficult to agree on geopolitical issues with countries who "voluntarily gave up a significant part of their sovereignty as a result of bloc politics."
Answering questions posed from Berlin, Putin also said that core Russian ideals did not differ from European ideals and that a "united Europe" should be created "from Lisbon to Vladivostok."
