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Russia-US relations unlikely to thaw despite Trump’s plans to meet with Putin — expert

According to Dmitry Suslov, the Trump administration will bring back diplomacy in its relations with Russia

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. US President-elect Donald Trump is not afraid to talk with his adversaries, as evidenced by his intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin once he takes office, but this does not mean that Russia-US relations are going to improve, Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics and Valdai Discussion Club expert, told TASS.

"Trump has no barriers, and his administration also has no barriers for dialogue with adversaries. I’m talking about the barriers that [outgoing US President Joe] Biden has had. Biden's Russia policy was absurd in many respects; they described Russia as an adversary. They pursued a policy of hybrid war against Russia, diplomacy be damned," he pointed out.

According to Suslov, the Trump administration will bring back diplomacy in its relations with Russia. "This makes it clear that first, it is interested in resolving the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible and second, the Trump administration will drop the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia in the short and medium term," the analyst stressed.

"The reason is because an agreement with Russia - one that would at least partially take Russian interests into account - does not per se mean a strategic defeat for Russia. And in fact, it means that the United States recognizes Russia’s victory, albeit halfheartedly," the expert explained.

No normalization of relations

The analyst went on to say that Moscow and Washington would be able to build dialogue on issues other than Ukraine.

"I doubt that the Trump administration will go for improving relations with Russia. Basically, I think that the situation will most likely be the opposite: diplomatic efforts will address the Ukraine conflict but diplomacy will be accompanied by a worsening of Russia-US relations in the political and military fields and a rise in pressure on Russia," Suslov maintained.

"The return of diplomacy does not mean or guarantee that the use of diplomacy will be successful. There’s no guarantee that we will be able to come to terms with the Trump administration on resolving the Ukraine conflict," the expert concluded.

"They will increase sanctions pressure on Russia, that’s for sure. The number of sanctions on Russia will grow under Trump," Suslov noted.

In an interview with ABC News, Trump’s incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz said that phone talks between the US president-elect and the Russian leader could take place in the near future. Trump stated earlier that he would like to meet with Putin in the first six months of his presidency. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Putin was ready for a meeting with his new US counterpart but there were "no details" yet.