Who will form the US policy toward Russia?

According to polls, two months before the presidential elections in the US, Hillary Clinton’s advantage, the candidate from the Democrats, over Donald Trump from the Republican Party decreased from 12% to 5%. What is special about this election campaign is that candidates speak a lot about the Russian issue. Clinton states that Russia has become the main geopolitical foe of the US; according to Trump, it is China.

Andrey Sidorov, the Chair of the Department of International Organizations and Global Political Processes of MSU, thinks that whoever wins these elections, will not be reelected in four years because of their age: “The policy, including the policy toward Russia, will be developed by ‘the court’ – the new administration. It will be Tim Kaine, Clinton’s vice president, or Mike Pence, the vice president of Trump. Both of them were born in the late 1950s, and I think they [will play the role of] mentors. One should pay more attention to their opinions and ideas about the relations than to the statements made by the two candidates.”

According to the expert, Trump is making favorable statements about Russia. “Scandals over the Clinton Foundation are affecting Eastern Europe and us partially, but most of all – [a Ukrainian billionaire Victor] Pinchuk and Ukrainian money in general. The situation influences the Democratic Party and the favorite candidate of the American establishment, Clinton, who is supported not only by Democrats, but also by Republicans,” Andrey Sidorov believes.