US President Donald Trump’s interest in achieving warm relations with Russia has been a consistent theme since the earliest days of his campaign, and it stands now as one of the few major foreign policy positions that he has not discarded or revised since taking office, the Washington Post writes.
"Things will work out fine between the US and Russia,” President Trump declared on his Twitter account last week. “At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!”
But in his devotion to this outcome, Trump appears increasingly isolated within his own administration. Over the past several weeks, senior members of Trump’s national security team have issued blistering critiques of Moscow, using harsh terms that have led to escalating tensions between the countries and seem at odds with the president.
In a speech at the United Nations, US Ambassador Nikki Haley lashed out at Russia for its role in Syria, asking “how many more children have to die before Russia cares” enough to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from committing further atrocities.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently accused Russia of being “incompetent or complicit” in the chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of Syrian civilians.
