Speaking at the late evening meeting with the leaders of major news agencies, Putin said on Friday Russia would work with whoever is elected the new U.S. president. But he expressed hope that some Russian athletes will still be allowed to compete, a possibility that the IAAF also allowed. Putin spent Thursday and Friday in St. Petersburg, his home town, hosting the president of the European Commission, the Italian prime minister and chief executives of the world's biggest companies. ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) " After two days of meetings with top European officials and international executives, Russian President Vladimir Putin sounded reconciliatory in a round-table with international media Friday, saying Russia is ready to work with whoever is elected the new U.S. president and offering only a mild condemnation of the IAAF's decision to ban Russian track and field athletes from competing in the upcoming Olympics. Responding to a question posed by AP president and CEO Gary Pruitt, Putin condemned the ruling as "unfair" and said it was "collective punishment" hurting clean athletes.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 17, 2016 20:15 UTC