© Leonhard Foeger / ReutersUS President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018.
"It's not only about the position of the US President. It's about the position of the so-called establishment, which is ruling [the US] in a broadest sense of the word," Putin said.
Putin was responding to a question about his July meeting with Trump at a joint briefing with the Finnish President Sauli Niinistö near Sochi on Wednesday.
"As for our meeting with President Trump, I have a positive assessment of it and think that it was useful," Putin said.
Calling the sanctions "counterproductive and senseless, especially regarding such country like Russia," Putin added that he hopes "that the realization that this policy doesn't have a future will someday come to our American partners and we'll begin to cooperate in a normal manner."
Putin said that he and Trump exchanged positions on the most pressing issues to each other in Finnish capital, adding that "an exchange of views, direct conversation is always very useful."
"No one was expecting that during the two-hour talks it would be possible to resolve all of the issues that have been controversial until now," he added.
Comment: Putin and his team fully understand that Trump is hamstrung by the Deep State machinery. It does help Putin to know what the president's personal views and goals are regarding the US' position in the world, but Russia's policies will be formed knowing that Trump's ability to translate that into action is limited.