{"id":26925,"date":"2020-05-12T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T09:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/12\/whats-preventing-a-respite-from-the-broken-us-russia-relationship\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:24:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:24:19","slug":"whats-preventing-a-respite-from-the-broken-us-russia-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/05\/12\/whats-preventing-a-respite-from-the-broken-us-russia-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s preventing a respite from the broken US-Russia relationship?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rumblings of U.S.-Russia rapprochement hit like a bolt out of the blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a rare joint statement<\/a> issued a couple weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin connected numerous times over the past several weeks according to public reports<\/a>. These developments stand out \u2014 not because any non-coronavirus news feels like a rarity, but because ties between Moscow and Washington have long been frozen in place. It is even more surprising given the Kremlin\u2019s continued actions in places like Syria and Ukraine. The dual challenge of the oil market crash<\/a> and the COVID-19 crisis<\/a>, however, seem to have momentarily altered the equation in U.S.-Russia relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth reiterating that a clear U.S. policy toward Russia has been virtually nonexistent in recent years. Since the start of the Trump administration, the president has tended to flatter his Russian counterpart, while the rest of his bureaucracy pursues a harder line toward Moscow. This dissonance, which obfuscates an overarching strategy, has grown more puzzling over the past weeks. And the tension it produces in U.S. policy was evident even in decisions like the statement issued on the “Spirit of the Elbe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A path to more constructive relations with Russia is certainly important for U.S. national security, but it cannot neglect what Russia has done in places like Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. Here, the gap between President Trump\u2019s words and actual U.S. policy are a cause for concern. The president remains out of step with many parts of his own government (or vice versa), in turn giving Putin the space to exploit his personal connection with Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\t