Washington is not ready to make concessions to Russia without clarity around Ukraine.
The Donald Trump administration is showing no sign of being ready to resume full-fledged relations with Russia, and this is causing deep disappointment in Moscow.
This was stated by former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in an interview with LIGAnet.
According to Klimkin, Washington has not yet made a clear decision on a possible revision of sanctions policy or launching a new track in relations with the Kremlin. Despite attempts by individual representatives of Trump's team to establish a dialogue, the overall position of the American establishment remains reserved.
“Part of Trump's cordon against normalization without understanding the situation around us. This is very annoying for Moscow,” Klimkin noted.
During the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, he said, the Russian elite's disappointment over the impossibility of separating US-Russian relations from the situation in Ukraine and Europe was discussed behind the scenes. Moscow expected to be able to put these issues on a separate track, but this did not happen.
Amid economic hardship, falling incomes and uncertainty over oil prices, Russian officials are eager to make at least minimal progress in relations with the United States. But even technical discussions, such as the formation of diplomatic missions, are currently difficult.
“The sanctions remain in place. No 'goodies' have been offered to Putin yet,” Klimkin emphasized. He also noted that the American system is deeply aware of the importance of levers of influence on the Kremlin and is not going to rush into negotiations.
Trump may be looking for some symbolic “success” on the Ukraine issue closer to the midterm elections in the US, he said, but whether it will be a win-win situation is a big question.
“Putin is closely monitoring changes in the US and has not yet decided whether to rely on the current administration,” Klimkin noted.
Thus, for now, the prospects for a serious dialogue between the US and Russia remain unclear, and Western isolation for Moscow is a current reality.
Let us recall that Trump recently stated that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are progressing, albeit slowly.
“There is some progress, albeit small, in the dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. I always advocate peace, although sometimes it is necessary to be tough,” Trump said.
He also criticized European countries for their passivity in resolving conflicts in the Middle East, stressing that Iran is only willing to engage in dialogue with the United States.
“Europe has done nothing. Iran only wants to negotiate with the United States,” the American leader said.
