Less than 24 hours after 70-year-old President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants summit with the new president. Under 55-year-old President Barack Obama, Peskov noted relations with Russia sunk to Cold War lows, largely over Crimea and Syria. Relations weren’t too good before Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, in large part because the CIA backed a pro-Western coup in Kiev when Putin was stuck hosting the Sochi Winter Olympics. U.S. and European Union officials put down the hammer on Putin, sponsoring punitive economic sanctions in 2014 designed to force Russia to give back Crimea. Ukraine’s 51-year-old pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko has practically stood on his head to get the EU and U.S. to guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Faced with growing discontent with his own government, Poroshenko continues to ask the West for more security assistance, almost begging the EU for Ukraine’s acceptance. With the Syrian refugee problem nearly breaking up the EU, there’s no interest in taking on a new albatross like Ukraine. Poroshenko’s Ukraine, barely controlling the capital of Kiev, has new opposition to his pro-Western government from former Russian prisoner Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko now leading a political party to oust Poroshenko. When Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) met Poroshenko Dec. 30, they ignored the fact that Poroshenko’s corrupt government no longer enjoys the backing even in Kiev or anywhere else. Visiting Poroshenko, McCain and Graham hoped to derail President Donald Trump’s attempts to restore relations with the Kremlin.
Accusing Trump of having business dealings in Russia, McCain and Graham want no part of a reset in U.S.-Russian relations, despite the adverse effect on U.S. foreign policy. Since U.S.-Russian relations his rock bottom with former President Barack Obama expelling 35 Russian diplomats Dec. 30 for Putin’s alleged meddling in the 2016 election, Trump recognized the insanity of a policy alienating the world’s most lethal nuclear power. Whatever happened in Crimea, it’s no reason for the U.S. to kill relations with the Russia, especially given the volatile state of world affairs. With North Korean President Kim Jong-un planning an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] launch, it demands the U.S. have good working relations Russia. Obama blamed Putin for meddling in the 2016 election after Democratic nominee Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lost to Trump Nov. 8.
Since her defeat, Hillary’s been blaming FBI Director James Comey and Russian Putin for her loss. Neither the FBI nor the CIA has produced any intel to the public proving Putin’s role in helping to elect Trump. Preferring Trump over Hillary or even engaging in propaganda to support Trump doesn’t constitute interference warranting Obama’s harsh reaction. U.S. officials engage in propaganda campaigns many countries like they did in Ukraine leading up to the Feb. 22, 2014 revolution ousting duly elected Kremlin-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Kremlin officials want to reset U.S.-Russian relations, believing that cooperation between superpowers only helps world peace. Since annexing Crimea, Obama worked hard with the EU to alienate Russia, accusing Moscow of committing war crimes protecting the sovereignty of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
When Putin didn’t react harshly Dec. 30 to Obama’s expulsions and new sanctions, the White House accused Trump of secretly dealing with Putin. Trump’s National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn had contact with Russia Dec. 30 about eventually setting up a meeting with Putin. “This will not be coming in weeks, let’s hope for the best—that the meeting will happened in the coming months,” Peskov told the BBC according to TASS, hoping to begin the slow process of restoring U.S.-Russian relations. Trump faces stiff opposition from war hawks in Congress like McCain to restore U.S.-Russian relations. McCain wants even harsher U.S. sanctions against Moscow, expressing skepticism over former Exxon-Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State. McCain has accused Trump of colluding with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Hoping to improve U.S.-Russian relations, Trump wants to get Tillerson approved as Secretary of State. With his approval hanging in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it’s up to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), one of Trump’s bitter rivals in 2016 campaign, to give his nod. “We indeed are the two biggest countries in the world. And we can’t live without frictions, conflicts of interest,” Peskow was quoted by Interfax. Peskov doesn’t expect U.S.-Russian relations to be “free of contradictions and disputes,” but nevertheless wants improved relations. Trump was elected to restore relations with Moscow to help improve the reach of U.S. foreign policy. Without strong U.S.-Russian relations, it’s difficult for the U.S. manage hot-spots around the globe, especially dealing with North Korea, China and terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS].
