ANCHORAGE, Alaska, on August 15. /TASS/. The rift between Russia and the United States is not in the interests of either Washington or Moscow, former American ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack Matlock said commenting on the upcoming summit between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
"The estrangement of the United States and Russia which developed, particularly in the past decade, is in the interest of neither country," the retired diplomat is convinced.
He also noted the symbolism of the venue chosen for the Russian-American summit. "It is significant that it will take place where our countries’ borders almost touch, rather than in Europe where they are far apart," Matlock believes.
He headed the American diplomatic mission in Moscow in 1987-1991 under U.S. President George H. W. Bush. In 1981-1983, Matlock was ambassador to Czechoslovakia, and in 1983-1986, he was special assistant to U.S. President Ronald Reagan and senior director of the White House National Security Council for European and Soviet Affairs.
In recent years, Matlock has consistently advocated Washington's abandonment of confrontation with Russia, criticized NATO and its expansion pointing out that it has turned into an offensive one. He stressed that Russia would not have launched a special military operation in Ukraine if the West had not continued its attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO, and spoke in favor of Washington's negotiations with Moscow.
Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said the summit will begin on August 15 in Anchorage at 22:30 Moscow time. It will be opened by a one-on-one conversation, where besides the leaders, only interpreters will participate. According to him, the central topic of the meeting will be the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, but Putin and Trump will also touch upon "broader tasks to ensure peace and security, as well as current and most pressing international and regional issues.".