text: Russian president Vladimir Putin said Russia has key interests in common with the United States and needs to work with it on a common agenda . Russia has key interests in . common with the United States and needs to work with it on a . common agenda, Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Saturday . in a television interview. In his comments to the state-run Rossiya channel, Putin . appeared to soften his anti-American rhetoric after being highly . critical. Relations between Moscow and Washington, and other . Western powers, have soured over the conflict in Russia's . neighbor Ukraine, sinking to an all-time low. 'We have disagreements on several issues on the . international agenda. 'But at the same time there is something . that unites us, that forces us to work together,' Putin said. 'I mean general efforts directed at making the world economy . more democratic, measured and balanced, so that the world order . is more democratic. 'We have a common agenda.' Putin has in the past fiercely attacked the United States . and the West in general, blaming them for the Ukraine crisis, . which Russia says was the result of a Western-backed 'coup' against Ukraine's former leader Viktor Yanukovich. Russia has repeatedly denied accusations from Kiev and the . West that it is supporting pro-Russian rebels with troops and . weapons in eastern Ukraine, where more than 6,000 people have . been killed since last April. His latest remark comes two days after an annual TV phone-in . show in which Putin accused the United States of trying to . dominate world affairs, saying it wanted 'not allies, but . vassals'. On Saturday, Putin (pictured above with U.S. president Obama in November 2014 at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit) said the U.S. and Russia have a common agenda of general efforts directed at making the world economy more democratic, measured and balanced . During the Thursday interview, he also made it clear that Russia wants an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine and is interested in rebuilding damaged ties with the United States and other Western nations. The U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia over Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and accusations of supporting separatists in Ukraine. At the same time, he reaffirmed his long-held criticism of what he sees as U.S. aspirations of global domination, saying Washington must learn to treat Russia as an equal partner. 'The main condition for restoring normal relations is to have respect for Russia and its interests,' Putin said on Thursday, adding that the United States 'doesn't need allies; they need vassals.' However, his criticisms of the West on Saturday were more moderate . than in some previous appearances. But, both Russia and the West say they back a peace deal . agreed in Minsk in February, as a result of which a ceasefire in . the Donbass region is largely holding.
target: Putin said on Saturday that the countries need to work on common agenda .
  He said US and Russia are working towards same efforts of making the world order more democratic .
  Putin's latest remarks come two days after saying US wanted 'not allies, but vassals'