Category: United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

RUSSIALINK: “Large Russian Companies Are Turning Inward; The mobile operator Megafon’s plan to delist in London is the latest sign that the West is becoming inhospitable” – Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Newslinks, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Hand Pulling Cash from Envelope

“The planned delisting of Megafon PJSC, Russia’s second-biggest mobile operator, from the London Stock Exchange is no ordinary event. The company is one of the most liquid Russian stocks trading overseas, and its exit is further evidence that the country’s businesses are turning inward as exposure to the West becomes increasingly problematic. In 2011, almost 70 Russian companies’ depositary receipts […]

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NEWSLINK: “Democrats Will Regret Becoming the Anti-Russia Party; Riling up the public against Moscow is good for Democrats in the short term-and bad for America” – Micah Zenko/Foreign Policy Magazine

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

“… When a political party increases its animus toward a foreign country – believing that this will enhance its own popularity-it introduces second-order effects that can manifest themselves years later. It creates a voting bloc of Americans who become socialized to hate a foreign government and, by extension, its citizens. It reduces the motivations and complexities of that government to […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians Pessimistic About U.S. Ties After Helsinki Summit, Survey Says” – Moscow Times

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 23, 2018) Almost half of surveyed Russians say the recent U.S-Russia summit in Helsinki will do little to help the strained relationship between the two countries, according to a state-run poll released Monday. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met in Helsinki last week for their first joint summit, after which the U.S. leader […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Helsinki Summit: A Good Idea Turns Bad; Mitigating the dangers of a U.S.-Russian escalatory spiral will be difficult” – The National Interest/George Beebe

JRL NewsBlog, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“George Beebe is director of the Center for the National Interest’s intelligence program. He formerly served as chief of Russia analysis at the CIA, and as special advisor to Vice President Cheney on Russia and the former Soviet Union.” “… the United States and Russia … managed to sail their listing bilateral ship directly into the rocks of the Russian […]

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Back To Business As Usual: Russian Analysts See Helsinki Meeting As Opening To Normalization

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – July 17, 2018 – also appeared at https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-analysts-see-helsinki-meeting-as-opening-to-normalization/29372517.html) Much of the immediate U.S. reaction to the July 16 Helsinki summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been characterized by some strident adjectives — “disgraceful,” “treasonous,” “imbecilic,” “appeasing,” and the like. So observers […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Open to Second Trump-Putin Summit; Officials in Moscow remain surprised by firestorm over recent meeting” – Wall Street Journal/Thomas Grove

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“The Russian government signaled Friday its openness to a possible second summit between … Putin and … Trump …. The summit earlier this week was broadly perceived in Moscow as a possible, positive step forward in Russia-U. S. ties, but Russian officials have been surprised by the persistent criticism against … Trump ….” Click here for: “Russia Open to Second […]

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George Beebe: Subject: Correction re article in The National Interest (JRL #132 item 9)

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

Subject: Correction re article in The National Interest (JRL #132 item 9) Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2018 From: George Beebe <gsbeebe@me.com> The folks at The National Interest bungled the authorship of the “Trump-Putin/Cold War” article attributed to me. It was, in fact, written by Daniel McCarthy. I have a separate article on the subject that should be online soon. [Re. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “The Helsinki Summit: the Beginning of a Journey” – Igor Ivanov/Russian International Affairs Council

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Igor Ivanov, adapted from image at defense.gov by Steven C. Welsh, www.stevencwelsh.info and www.stevencwelsh.com

“The long-awaited meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has finally happened. The very fact that the meeting took place is a very positive development in international affairs. After all, a situation in which the leaders of the world’s two leading powers do not meet for years cannot be considered normal. Too many problems exist in the world, and too […]

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In Helsinki, Trump Takes ‘Do No Harm’ Approach to Russia on 2 Issues: Syria and Energy

Oil, Gas, Energy, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nikolas K. Gvosdev – July 17, 2018 – russiamatters.org/analysis/helsinki-trump-takes-do-no-harm-approach-russia-2-issues-syria-and-energy) Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute; Senior Fellow, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs Despite some predictions that President Donald Trump would announce U.S. recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, or cancel U.S. military deployments to Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, his summit in […]

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NEWSLINK/RUSSIALINK: “Shadows Over the Putin-Trump Summit” – PONARS Eurasia/Fyodor Lukyanov, Keith Darden

Iran, Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Palestine, Middle East, North Africa, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(PONARS Eurasia – Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor, Russia in Global Affairs; Keith Darden – MOSCOW, July 18, 2018 – ponarseurasia.org/article/shadows-over-putin-trump-helsinki-summit-commentary-lukyanov-darden) As the insightful U.S. diplomat and scholar Chas Freeman put it recently, in the age of social media, celebrity is authority. Few know that better than President Trump, for whom flamboyant appearance is more important than substance. What could generate broader […]

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NEWSLINK: “The Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki was a historic event – in the worst possible way” – Washington Post/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As I touched down in Helsinki two days ago, I had one small hope — that the ‘summit’ between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be a historic one. During my five years serving in the Obama administration, I attended many summits, meetings and talks with Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Putin. Almost all were memorable to me, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “Joint News Conference by Trump and Putin: Full Video and [Link to] Transcript” – New York Times/Federal News Service

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“After meeting privately in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia held a joint news conference. ….”  [embedded video and link to transcript follow below] “Mr. Putin (through an interpreter): … negotiations with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, took place in a frank and businesslike atmosphere. I think we can call […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT & VIDEO: “Interview to Fox News Channel – Vladimir Putin answered questions from Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace in an interview recorded in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16” – KremlinRu/YouTube

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
Vladimir Putin File Photo, Cropped Screenshot from Video at kremlin.ru

(Kremlin.ru – July 17, 2018 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/58019 – youtube.com/watch?v=rHY8yG4mVzs) Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace: President Putin, thank you for speaking with us. I am going to get to some specifics about the summit in a moment, but let’s begin with the big picture. President Trump said in his news conference that our relationship has never been worse, but that […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S.-Russia Relations are Stuck on Repeat; Both Trump and Putin are now locked into narratives about what did (or did not) happen that prevent this issue from being dealt with-and this holds the entire rest of the bilateral agenda hostage” – The National Interest/Nikolas K. Gvosdev

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Oil, Gas, Energy, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump and Putin Standing Side-by-Side at Helsinki Summit, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… the United States has not altered its position that Crimea remains a part of Ukraine and continues to deny any recognition that … annexation … [by Russia] was legal. … the United States has not, as a result of the Helsinki meeting, agreed to stop providing Ukraine with weapons or to cease the training of the Ukrainian military. … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “International order for 4 centuries has been based on non-interference in the internal affairs of others and respect for sovereignty. Russia has violated this norm by seizing Crimea and by interfering in the 2016 US election. We must deal w Putin’s Russia as the rogue state it is.” – @RichardHaass

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Richard Haass file photo, adapted from image at state.gov by Steven C. Welsh, www.stevencwelsh.info and www.stevencwelsh.com

(Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations – Twitter – @RichardHaass – July 15, 2018) “International order for 4 centuries has been based on non-interference in the internal affairs of others and respect for sovereignty. Russia has violated this norm by seizing Crimea and by interfering in the 2016 US election. We must deal w Putin’s Russia as […]

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RUSSIALINK: “THE HELSINKI SUMMIT – CAN THE ELECTION-INTERFERENCE SHADOW BE LIFTED?” – Valdai Discussion Club/ Timothy Colton/ Harvard

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

“The Helsinki summit between Presidents Putin and Trump was their first full-scale … The pair called for “constructive dialogue” without revealing any concrete results from the talks, other than plans for aides to follow up. They did hint at progress toward an understanding over Syria, presumably involving mutual acceptance of continuance of the Assad regime and Russian restraints on Iran, […]

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Big Weapons, Big Meeting: Could Trump, Putin Agree On New Arms Control Deal?

Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Mike Eckel – WASHINGTON – July 14, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/big-weapons-big-meeting-could-trump-putin-agree-on-new-arms-control-deal-/29365115.html) Just before departing Washington to travel to the NATO summit in Brussels, a meeting with Britain’s prime minister in England, and an upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, U.S. President Donald Trump made […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia supports U.S. efforts on settlement on Korean Peninsula in contacts with N. Korea – Lavrov” – Interfax

North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
North Korea Map and Flag, adapted from .gov image

MOSCOW. July 14 (Interfax) – Russia supports the efforts made by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on settling the situation on the Korean Peninsula and supports them in its contacts with North Korea and other countries of the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “It has been a very deep crisis with very […]

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NEWSLINK: “Mueller’s New Indictment – Do the Feds Take Us for Idiots” – Medium/Mark McCarty

Cybersecurity, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia file photo, adapted from image at dc.uscourts.gov

“… The timing of the indictment is of course quite strategic — released right before Trump’s summit with Putin, there will be no time for critiques of the indictments to appear and be digested prior to the meeting; hence, the chances of a successful outcome auguring for peace will be lowered. And how convenient that Assange has been rendered incommunicado just when […]

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Survey: What Can We Expect From the Trump-Putin Summit?

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Russia Matters – RM Experts – russiamatters.org – July 12, 2018 – russiamatters.org/analysis/survey-what-can-we-expect-trump-putin-summit – featured image is a file photo from another occasion) On July 16 U.S. President Donald Trump is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki for their first official bilateral summit. Russia Matters has asked eight experts to weigh in on the meeting’s prospects. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Iran Role in Syria Key Item at Trump-Putin Summit” – AP

Iran, JRL NewsBlog, Middle East, North Africa, Military, Syria, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Syria Map

“As fighting wanes after seven years of war, the U.S. has made curtailing Iran’s influence in post-war Syria a strategic objective – one strongly backed by Israel. … officials from the U.S. and Russia have signaled that a broad framework for such a deal is likely to be the main outcome. But any agreement is likely to be carefully phrased […]

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Stephen J. Cimbala: “Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit”

Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Stealth Bomber in Flight

Subject: Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2018 From: STEPHEN CIMBALA <sjc2@psu.edu> Arms Control and the Trump-Putin Summit By Stephen J. Cimbala Stephen J. Cimbala is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Penn State Brandywine. Dr Cimbala is an award winning Penn State teacher and the author of numerous works in the fields of national security […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump, Putin May Agree to Resume Stalled Arms Control Talks” – Reuters

JRL NewsBlog, Military, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Nuclear Submarine

“… When [Trump and Putin] meet in Helsinki … they are likely to touch on whether to extend the “New START” agreement to 2026 and what to do about … the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) …. Historically, arms control has been an area where Washington and Moscow have been able to talk to one another even when their broader […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH/ RUSSIAWATCH: “How to Reduce Nuclear Risks in Helsinki” – Wolfgang Ischinger, Igor Ivanov, Sam Nunn, Desmond Browne/Russian International Affairs Council

Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian Mobile ICBM Parade File Photo

“… First, begin discussions on how to increase decision time for leaders to reduce the risk of a false warning of a nuclear attack or a nuclear accident or miscalculation. … Second, begin discussions on reducing and managing cyber nuclear risks. … Third, work jointly to restart bilateral crisis management dialogue, including among uniformed military leaders in charge of nuclear […]

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NEWSLINK: “Summitgate and the Campaign vs. ‘Peace’; Not surprisingly, Trump’s meetings with NATO and Putin are being portrayed as ominous events by Russiagaters” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump Waving Before Large Crowd with Trump Signs, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As Cohen pointed out in previous discussions, U.S.-Russian (Soviet and post-Soviet) summits are a long tradition going back to FDR’s wartime meeting with Stalin in Yalta in 1943. Every American president since FDR met with a Kremlin leader in a summit-style format at least once, several doing so multiple times. The purpose was always to resolve conflicts and enhance cooperation […]

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RUSSIALINK: “NASA may ask Russia for additional Soyuz seats due to delayed U.S. ships’ certification – source” – Interfax

Space, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
International Space Station file photo

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) – The United States may fail to certify its manned spaceships before August 2020, in which case NASA will need additional seats on Russian Soyuz ships, according to the United States Government Accountability Office. “Additional delays could result in a gap in U.S. access to the space station as NASA has contracted for seats on the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “These Are the High Stakes of the NATO and Trump-Putin Summits; Trump and America’s allies must stand firm while also not sleep-walking into war” – The National Interest/Peter Zwack

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… The Russian meeting is preceded by Trump’s fraught attendance at the … NATO[] summit and a next-day visit to an uneasy United Kingdom. … Every foreign power – not least, China – will watch closely. * * * This is a crisis, and it’s time for both sides of America’s domestic political scene to display unity. The United States […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Provision on criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions on Russian territory may be removed from bill – Volodin” – Interfax

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian State Duma Building file photo

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) – Russian MPs may remove the provision criminalizing compliance with Western anti-Russian sanctions in the country from a draft bill that is currently under consideration in the lower house of the Russian parliament, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said. “Everyone, including the business community, experts and deputies, have reached consensus on the second part of the […]

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NEWSLINK: “‘They Will Die in Tallinn’: Estonia Girds for War With Russia; The head of the tiny NATO member’s special forces details his country’s preparations for a conflict many here see as inevitable” – Politico/Molly K. McKew

Baltics, Europe, EU, Military, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Baltics and Environs, Including Kaliningrad

“… The Kremlin invaded Georgia to prevent its accession to NATO. Russia used different means to accomplish the same goal with Ukraine, and then attempted to assassinate the prime minister of Montenegro in a last-ditch effort to forestall the same — all of which expose the Kremlin’s deep paranoia about its former vassals defending themselves from Russian belligerence. The Baltics, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Rating Agency Says More Sanctions Are Key Economic Risk” – Moscow Times

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 10, 2017) The possibility of more Western sanctions against Moscow is the key risk for the Russian economy, as much of 21 percent of which has already felt the impact of existing sanctions, Russia’s Analytical Credit Ratings Agency said in a report on Tuesday. Western sanctions are expected to weigh on Russia’s oil-dependent economy […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Does Vladimir Putin Speak for the Russian People?” – New York Times Book Review/Daniel Beer

History, Soviet Union, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Putin turned directly to McFaul and berated him for trying to ruin United States-Russia relations. * * * … McFaul concluded that [Putin] was ‘paranoid,’ a man of ‘fixed and flawed views’ who ‘saw us as the enemy,’ … that so long as he ruled Russia, ‘strategic partnership was impossible.’ … [But McFaul’s] relentless focus on Putin’s individual role […]

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With Trump, Shifts on One Issue Won’t Lead to Shifts on Others, Kortunov Warns

Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 4, 2018) Previous American presidents in their dealings with Moscow have typically moved from progress in one area to progress in others, Andrey Kortunov says; but Donald Trump is different: he will treat each “‘deal’” with Moscow separately; and thus any forward movement on Syria won’t make an agreement on Ukraine […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Volodin favors giving up blacklists for sake of developing Russia-U.S. relationship” – Interfax

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Russian State Duma Building file photo

MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) – State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has suggested that Russia and the United States forsake “blacklists” and “iron curtains” of all kinds to promote cooperation between the two countries. “As for the blacklists, this is what our counterparts from the [U.S.] Congress thought up in their hot heads – we have to cool down and walk […]

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U.S. And Russia To Dominate World’s Oil & Gas Pipeline Spending

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Oil, Gas, Energy, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Gas Flame file photo

(Oilprice.com – Tsvetana Paraskova – June 28, 2018) The U.S. shale boom and the massive Russian expansion of natural gas pipelines will make the United States and Russia the dominant spenders on oil, petroleum products, and natural gas pipelines through 2022, data and analytics company GlobalData says in a new report. The other big spenders between 2018 and 2022 will […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Foreign Minister S.Lavrov’s interview with Channel 4 (UK), Moscow, June 29, 2018” – Russia in Global Affairs

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Sergei Lavrov file photo

“… Question: Foreign Minister, the summit is happening in Helsinki. Russian President V.Putin and US President D.Trump together. Is this the post-West world order that you have talked of in the past? Has it now arrived? …”

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JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “National Security Adviser John Bolton on ‘Face the Nation,’ July 1, 2018” – CBS

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Iran, Middle East, North Africa, NATO, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Videos
File Photo of John Bolton Raising Hand at United Nations, with United States Nameplate on Desktop in Front, adapted from image at state.gov

“… There are possibilities for … a larger negotiation on … get[ting] Iranian forces out  [of Syria] …. * * * [T]he Russians are always saying to us they want to cooperate on international terrorism …. * * * I had meetings … with … Putin and his foreign minister … defense minister and … diplomatic adviser … the [U.S.] […]

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Musings II … The “Intelligence Community,” “Russian Interference,” and Due Diligence; Did the U.S. “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election?

Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Jack Matlock – Jackmatlock.com – June 29, 2018) About: Jack Matlock is a career diplomat who served on the front lines of American diplomacy during the Cold War and was U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union when the Cold War ended. Since retiring from the Foreign Service, he has focused on understanding how the Cold War ended and how the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Should the World Expect from the Trump-Putin Summit? However fractured the relationship, it makes sense for the world’s two nuclear superpowers to sit down together and re-establish some of the channels of communication.” – The National Interest/Angela Stent

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Donald Trump Waving Before Large Crowd with Trump Signs, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Trump has been consistent in his desire to make a ‘deal’ with … Putin …. ‘Russiagate’ investigations [have impacted that prospect] …. Given the tense state of U.S.-Russian relations and the paucity of high-level contacts, there are strong arguments for Trump to hold a summit with Putin. … it makes sense for the world’s two nuclear superpowers to … […]

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NEWSLINK: “Why the CIA Needs Its Own Horowitz Report; No need to speculate: The intelligence agencies saw Trump as a de facto agent of the Kremlin” – Wall Street Journal/Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

“Now that the world has digested the Horowitz report, notice how much of the story it doesn’t tell. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is treated as a closed loop when, in fact, much of its decision making was based on intelligence and advice supplied by other agencies. …”

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “An Agenda for the Trump-Putin Summit; To forge a better relationship, Washington and Moscow need to work through the issues that most sharply divide them” – The National Interest/Doug Bandow

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Trump will meet … Putin next month in Helsinki …. The president should approach the summit with a realistic assessment of Moscow’s capabilities and intentions. Putin is no friend of Western-style liberalism, but then, many U.S. allies are no less authoritarian. There is no evidence that he bears any ideological animus toward America or Europe. KGB officers were among […]

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NEWSLINK: “Former Ambassador McFaul Talks U.S.-Russia Relations and ‘Hot Peace'” – The Washington Diplomat/Aileen Torres-Bennett/Michael McFaul

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Obama thought very similar to the way I did. There was hardly any daylight, both on substantive issues and analytic framework. …”    

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NEWSLINK: “In Meeting With Putin, Experts Fear Trump Will Give More Than He Gets” – New York Times/Mark Landler

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials insist that the Trump administration has been tougher toward Russia than the Obama administration was. They cite American sanctions, arming of Ukrainian troops, expulsion of diplomats and vocal public shaming of Russia for its cyberattacks. …”

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RUSSIALINK: “Trump-Putin meeting will benefit both countries, strengthen global security – John Bolton” – Interfax

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of John Bolton Raising Hand at United Nations, with United States Nameplate on Desktop in Front, adapted from image at state.gov

(Interfax – June 27, 2018) U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton visited Moscow on June 27 to lay the groundwork for the first full-fledged meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. While in Moscow, Bolton was received by Putin and held meetings with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Security Council First Deputy Secretary Yury Averyanov. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump to Meet Russia’s Putin in Finland on July 16; Summit will be U.S. president’s first with the Russian leader, and the two will discuss national security and outlook for developing Russian-American relations” – Wall Street Journal/Rebecca Ballhaus, Anatoly Kurmanaev

JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Trump is set to hold the first [formal] summit of his presidency with … Putin on July 16 in Helsinki … White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the leaders would meet to discuss relations between their two nations and a ‘range of national security issues.’ The Kremlin … announced the details of the meeting at the same time […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin shares with Bolton some ideas intended solely for Trump – Ushakov” – Interfax

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and River

MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has shared with United States President’s National Security Advisor John Bolton some of the ideas that he had intended for the U.S. leader personally, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said after Putin and Bolton met at the Kremlin on Wednesday. Today’s meeting focused on the priority issues to be discussed at […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin] Meeting with US National Security Adviser John Bolton” – Kremlin.ru

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Stylized Russian and U.S. Flags, 200, 1807-2007

(Kremlin.ru – June 27, 2018) Vladimir Putin received John Bolton, national security adviser to the President of the United States of America, in the Kremlin. Russian participants at the meeting included Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. The discussion focused on the prospects for developing Russian-US relations, disarmament, the Syria and Ukraine crises, […]

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NEWSLINK: “Trump catches World Cup fever…but will he watch final with Putin?” – Washington Time/S.A. Miller

Newslinks, Sports, Olympics, World Cup, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Donald Trump

“… The White House is planning a Trump-Putin meeting in Moscow that likely would occur around the same time as the World Cup final July 15. …”

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NEWSLINK: “Aggression Is a Choice; A conversation with Michael McFaul on Putin, Russia, and what the president should read” – The Weekly Standard/Adam Rubenstein

Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“… Putin is not the only decision-maker regarding Russian foreign policy. Internally, there are bureaucratic politics, interest groups, and even economic actors who lobby the Kremlin. After 15 years in the Kremlin, however, Putin has become increasingly isolated from other foreign policy advisors and more confident in his individual talents to conduct Russian foreign policy. …”  

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NEWSLINK: “Tech didn’t spot Russian interference during the last election. Now it’s asking law enforcement for help.” – Washington Post

Cybersecurity, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, Spies, Spy Allegations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

“Silicon Valley companies and law enforcement are starting to talk about how to ward off meddling by malicious actors including Russia on social media in the November midterms, an attempt at dialogue and information-sharing that was absent during the 2016 presidential elections. …”

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Putin Says Bolton Visit Gives Hope For Steps To ‘Restore Full-Scale Relations’

United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of John Bolton Raising Hand at United Nations, with United States Nameplate on Desktop in Front, adapted from image at state.gov

(Article ©2018 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – June 27, 2018 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-us-trump-putin-summit-on-agenda-as-bolton-heads-to-moscow/29322852.html) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told U.S. national security adviser John Bolton that his visit “instills hope” that steps can be taken to improve badly strained relations between the countries. Putin and Bolton, who was in Moscow to discuss U.S.-Russian ties and […]

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