"US and Russia are already friends"

US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, responding to questions from Twitter users at the official page of the US Embassy in Russia, said that Russia and the United States are friends.

"I think that we are already friends. And I think our friendship will deepen the more we find solutions to some common problems and find ourselves more at the negotiating table," Huntsman said, adding that the peoples of the two countries have more in common than one might think, Gazeta.ru writes.

The director of the Roosevelt Fund of Study of the US at Moscow State University, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Yuri Rogulev, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that such statements are part of the US ambassador's duties.

According to the expert, Huntsman's harsh statements against Russia would lead to the complete failure of his ambassadorial mission. "The ambassador can promote the development of relations, in this case his mission could be successful," he said.

At the same time, the expert added that he agrees with Huntsman's statement that our two peoples have a lot in common. Rogulev stressed that there had never been a conflict between the peoples of the United States and Russia, which could lead to irreconcilable hostility. "We have never been at war with each other, there have been no conflicts. We have no border conflicts, we do not have any ethnic, racial or other contradictions between states that could lead to such an aggravation of relations. I agree with Huntsman that we have much in common. In fact, there is no basis for hostility other than political," the analyst said.

In addition, Rogulev added that there are different points of view on relations with Russia among the US leadership. "Not everyone adheres to a rigid policy towards Russia. It's one thing to criticize another state, but it's another thing to try to isolate it, crush it, and so on," he concluded.

The director general of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation Sergey Mikheyev, said that such a statement by Huntsman is related to the need for the US ambassador to demonstrate his achievements in the new post. "His task is to establish friendly relations, or at least, demonstrate it," the expert believes.

He also added that the US ambassador's statement on friendship between the two countries does not directly coincide with the statements of Washington.

"The ambassador has his own personal task, he needs to prove that he is in his place," the expert said.

The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, expressed hope that the statement of the US ambassador would be the beginning of the improvement of relations between Moscow and Washington.

According to him, in recent years, already complicated relations between the countries have been more complicated by the fact that the US ambassadors in Russia have taken wrong steps. "I would like Huntsman's career here to be more effective," the diplomat said.

Baklanov noted that the current relationship between Russia and the US is in crisis, so it is necessary that the words of the ambassador be backed up by concrete actions.

In addition, he added that Huntsman's desire to normalize relations between Moscow and Washington is supported by some US authorities.