WASHINGTON, October 6. /TASS/. By tying all aspects of US-Russian relations to the conflict in Ukraine, the United States is sacrificing other policy goals that could otherwise be achieved, including in the near term, Eurasia Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Mark Episkopos told TASS commenting on a statement by Donald Trump, who described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend for another year the quantitative limits set by the New START Treaty as a "good idea".

"The [US] administration has been clear in its intention to stabilize US-Russia relations while ending the war in Ukraine, but there’s always been a tension between these two objectives. Decoupling certain aspects of US-Russia relations - like nuclear arms control - from ongoing Ukraine talks can build bilateral confidence and advance a range of concrete US interests, but at the cost of compromising American leverage in getting a negotiated settlement across the finish line," he said.

"Tying all other agreements with Russia to a Ukraine peace deal maximizes American leverage, but sacrifices certain US objectives that can be achieved in the short to medium term and runs the risk of being misinterpreted by Moscow as a lack of American willingness to constructively engage the other side," the expert added.

According to him, "There is no easy answer to this problem because both concerns are legitimate in their own way. The best approach may be a middle-of-the-road strategy that demonstrates a readiness to engage Moscow on certain issues outside Ukraine but also makes clear that the path to a meaningful and lasting US-Russia reset runs through a negotiated settlement of the war."

On Sunday, Trump, responding to a question from TASS, said that Putin’s proposal regarding the New START Treaty "sounds like a good idea." On September 22, during a meeting with Russia’s Security Council, Putin announced that after the treaty expires in February, Moscow is prepared to continue adhering to the treaty’s quantitative restrictions for another year. However, he emphasized that this measure would only remain viable if Washington acts in a similar manner.