Since 2026, Russia and the US have resumed contact, with high-level officials interacting multiple times. Could this lead to a relaxation of relations between the two countries?
In the view of Dmitri Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Higher Economic University of Russia, it is necessary and important to restore this contact. As for further normalizing relations, it will be determined based on actual steps and policies.
“The problem with the Trump government is that, in the absence of fundamental policy changes, they resumed dialogue with Russia. They maintain an anti-Russia stance and a confrontation policy. If Russia and the US, based on the Ashin agreement, resolve the Ukrainian conflict jointly, this would open the door to further improvement in U.S.-Russia relations.” Suslov said recently in Observer Network’s “Opening Up” program.
He said that the Trump administration has failed to fulfill its promises so far, and Europeans have been actively sabotaging the conflict-resolution plan based on the Anchorage Consensus for Ukraine. Basically, Europeans want to exclude the United States from the role of mediator and dialogue participants. They want to undermine the results of the Anchorage summit and impose their own terms, which are absolutely unacceptable to Russia. Because the terms proposed by Europeans amount to a defeat for Russia, Russia will never accept them.
Susslov said, “We will see how the Trump administration reacts. If the Trump administration ultimately decides to support European practices, then I believe that the window of opportunity opened with Trump’s election will close, and relations between the US and Russia will become even more tense.”
However, he stated that if the Trump administration ultimately exerts necessary pressure on Europe and Ukraine, and promotes the implementation of solutions based on the consensus reached at the Anchorage Summit, then new opportunities and new momentum will emerge, further solidifying relations between the United States and Russia.
