Russia may not be a foreign policy priority for the incoming Biden administration. But its promise to foreground democracy will put the Kremlin on edge.
The extensive media coverage of the Helsinki meeting was almost universally critical of Trump, which overshadowed the chance to ask more meaningful questions about how the world deals with Russia.
Vladimir Putin may well have something on Donald Trump. But their close ties could also be about oil prices and Trump’s efforts to get Russia to ends it alliance with China.
Stepping back from the current crisis in US-Russia relations, a Soviet expert asks: what’s in store for Russia in the long term, and is a peaceful transition possible when Putin’s gig is up?
The US president’s sharing of sensitive information with the Russian foreign minister is not only inept, it shows an alarming lack of understanding of Russia’s role in the Syrian conflict.
Ivan Kurilla, European University at St Petersburg
Relations between Russia and the United States have reached an all-time low since the US strike on Syria. But Moscow knows that Washington will need its support if tension rises with North Korea.
The rocky relationship between Russia and the West is on a knife edge. But simple dialogue and face-to-face discussions can go a long way to easing tensions.