Russia has no illusions about possibility of new reset with the US after the election of President Donald Trump, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his address to the State Duma.
"We do know that Trump is considered to be good at striking deals. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, too, knows how to compromise, and always for the benefit of Russia," TASS cited Lavrov as saying.
According to him, the crisis in the Russian-US relations that had occurred during the presidency of Barack Obama may be overcome only over the course of time and through serious efforts by both sides.
"We, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said, are ready to do our part on revitalizing ties in the interests of our people, global security and stability," the Russian Foreign Minister pointed out.
The director of the Roosevelt Fund of Study of the US at Moscow State University, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Yuri Rogulyov, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that it is about a realistic approach to contacts with the US in any direction. "Illusions are not necessary linked to the improvement of relations between our countries. Our relations are very susceptible to all kinds of political expediency, they can be affected by different factors. Both improving and deterioration of our contacts is possible, depending on the circumstances. It will depend on a particular approach, negotiations and so on. Therefore, Russia will not make plans, which can be an illusion, in advance," he said.
According to Yuri Rogulev, contradictions in the political elites of the United States will hinder the normalization of the Russian-US relations. "Not only the president affects the US foreign policy, but also the Congress, political parties, institutions and ideologies, as well as public opinion, and even economic factors. It is very difficult to predict which of the forces will be stronger. In this regard, no one in Russia will wait for an absolute improvement of relations in a positive humanitarian way. Our relations can be developed in certain areas, and when these areas will be identified, there will be negotiations - and even it does not mean that it will cover absolutely all areas, and we will immediately begin to be friends with the US," the director of the Roosevelt Fund of Study of the US at Moscow State University stressed.
The head of the Center for Applied Research of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pavel Sharikov, in turn, explained that fact that the Russian authorities have no illusions by inconsistent statements of President Donald Trump and a candidate for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. "They made rather controversial statements about how they see the dialogue with Russia, offering to discuss different things. Until now, many experts are wondering how can there be bargaining between the lifting of sanctions and the reduction of nuclear weapons. At the same time, I think Sergey Lavrov primarily meant not Trump and Tillerson, but the situation in the Congress, where we have seen a real anti-Russian consensus and where the various lobby groups, singing in one voice with various lobbying organizations, are active enough," he pointed out.
