MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Trump’s Ukraine policy and sanctions warning raise doubts about Russia-US rapprochement; US threat of 100% secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners puts global energy ties under strain, and several EU countries refuse to fund US arms for Ukraine. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Moscow is prepared to discuss with Washington the full resumption of embassy operations and sees potential in strengthening relations with the United States, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia. However, the US Embassy has stated that normalization of relations and any expansion of economic cooperation are contingent solely on a peace agreement regarding Ukraine. Despite maintaining a channel of dialogue with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has taken a tougher line on Moscow, announcing plans to supply arms to Kiev and threatening across-the-board tariffs on Russian imports.
"We are currently in the process of normalization. We are willing to discuss matters related to the functioning of our diplomatic missions so they can return to normal operations. The process is underway, though regrettably not as quickly as we would like. We consider Russian-American relations to be a highly promising and viable area of engagement," Karasin stated.
