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Expert expects anti-Russian rhetoric, but not policies, to soften after Bolton’s dismissal

The expert chose not to make guesses on who will replace Bolton

MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. The dismissal of US national security adviser John Bolton may attenuate Washington’s anti-Russian rhetoric, but the policy toward Moscow will remain largely unchanged, Director of the Institute for the US and Canadian Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Garbuzov has told TASS.

According to the expert, Bolton was known for his "harshest stance" on certain foreign policy issues among members of the incumbent administration.

"[US President Donald] Trump disagreed with him on many issues. Apparently, some critical amount [of disagreement] has accumulated, causing Trump to make this unexpected decision. Not many people projected the situation to unfold this way," he said.

According to the expert, the US Department of State and the national security adviser share the same zone of responsibilities and, quite often, this leads to "some disagreement between them."

"I suppose this is the case with the present administration. Bolton looked like a square peg in a round hole, hence the outcome," the expert said. "I don’t think that the person who would take Bolton’s place will change the US policy toward Russia. Maybe there will be less harsh rhetoric, but, nevertheless, there will be little change."

The expert chose not to make guesses on who will replace Bolton.

"Many different variants are possible. We can expect almost anything from Trump, including some unconventional moves," he said.

US President Donald Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday he had sent Bolton to resignation and would name his successor next week. "I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration," Trump wrote.

The White House said later that Bolton’s deputy, Charles Kupperman, would replace Bolton on an acting basis.