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Russian MP says question whether US ties can improve after impeachment failure rhetorical

Citing a Gallup poll results, the lawmaker noted that "Trump’s approval rating has hit the highest level over his whole presidency", while the attempt to impeach him only invigorated it

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The question about whether Russian-US relations can improve after US President Donald Trump survived the failed impeachment attempt remains a rhetorical one despite the fact that the American leader’s standings received a significant boost, Chairperson of the Russian State Duma (lower house) Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky said via his Facebook account on Thursday.

Citing a Gallup poll results, the lawmaker noted, "Trump’s approval rating has hit the highest level over his whole presidency", while the attempt to impeach him only invigorated it instead of bringing down his popularity. "We can spend a long time here discussing and analyzing the results, although it is all a US domestic affair. However, generally speaking I personally have a question whether Donald Trump’s stronger position can in any way reflect positively on the Russian-American relations," he wrote.

According to him, "it is not a secret that anti-Russian steps of the current US administration are a result of a fierce struggle between the [political] parties in which the Democrats made Russia the main target," accusing Moscow of "election interference and all deadly sins in general."

Read also

US Senate votes to acquit Trump on power abuse, obstruction of Congress

"Naturally, I’d like to hope that Trump will now be more constructive regarding normalization of the Russian-US ties. Two largest nuclear powers are just not allowed to have such a low level of dialogue, particularly on strategic security issues," Slutsky emphasized. "However, will the US leader finally manage to stop the anti-Russian flywheel launched by the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and act without looking back at the domestic political environment? Even more so that the presidential election is upcoming, the political struggle in the country will only get more and more heightened. The question remains a rhetorical one," he concluded.

The US Senate on Wednesday acquitted Trump on both articles of impeachment. To find the American leader guilty of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, senators needed to secure a two-thirds majority (67 votes). However, the first article of impeachment was supported by only 48 senators, while the second one received even smaller support of 47 senators. Therefore, Trump was cleared of charges and held on to his office. Senate’s decision cannot be appealed.

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