Kosachyov sees ‘window of opportunity’ for building pragmatic relations with U.S. under Trump

File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) – Relations with the United States will not be ‘a bed of roses’ for Russia, yet there is a window of opportunity for pragmatic interaction now that a new team has moved into the White House, Federation Council International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said.

“I, personally, think that [U.S. President Donald] Trump is much more similar to [rather] than different from his predecessor Obama. He is similar primarily because Mr. Trump is equally determined to make America great again, to ensure its global leadership and to adamantly defend U.S. national interests in relations with foreign partners, amongst others,” Kosachyov said at a Federation Council roundtable on Thursday.

“So, I believe the relations between our countries will not be a bed of roses, although a window of opportunity is definitely appearing in these relations and Mr. Trump has repeatedly hinted at readiness to build relations with Russia on a new, pragmatic basis,” he said.

The confirmation of Rex Tillerson as U.S. secretary of state “is sort of an input in the attempt to bring Russia-U.S. relations back to the state of normality,” he said.

Russia’s interested and amicable response to the U.S. transformations dispels the myth that “Russia has been intentionally inciting anti-Americanism for the strictly practical purpose of distracting the population from domestic problems and of blaming the external factor, America, for all of our problems,” Kosachyov said.

“The response of Russia, including the political community, the response of interested expectation shows that our country is tired of confrontation and that there has been no intentional anti-Americanism, especially not of the scope of Russophobia that existed in the United States during the period of U.S. power transition,” Kosachyov said.

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