MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. Visit to Moscow by US National Security Advisor John Bolton will likely bring about some hopeful changes in relations between Moscow and Washington and will lay down the groundwork for renewed dialogue, Andrei Bystritsky, the chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussions Club said on Tuesday.
"Bolton’s visit as such will scarcely be pivotal but it’ll mark an important step to a certain shift in relations," he said. "There’s the willingness for a discussion and let’s hope it’ll materialize. I think the meeting will be important because it’ll help draw up an agenda for Russian-American discussion."
Bystritsky believes President Trump is seeking to fulfill the promises he made during the election race. He has already fulfilled many of them and now he is trying to straighten out relations with Russia, since "[…] definite changes have occurred inside the American elite and you could say it has reconciled itself to Trump."
"He has gotten more freedom in conducting foreign policy now - the Republicans are now acting in serried ranks, social support for Trump’s policies is growing, and the economy is doing well enough, and whatever one could think about North Korea, it’s a success, albeit quite possibly not very durable one," he said.
Bolton arrives in Moscow on Wednesday for consultations. A possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will be one of the issues on the table of discussions.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier the agenda of the visit will cover disarmament, bilateral relations, regional problems, and international security.
He did not rule out a possibly of Bolton’s meeting with Putin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Sergey Lavrov, the nation's top diplomat, would receive Bolton on Wednesday