Conversations between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have not resulted in significant benefits for Moscow, prompting frustration in Russia, according to a spokesman for the Kremlin.
“Well, I respect a lot of people but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get along with him,” President Trump recently told Fox News, referring to his Russian counterpart. “He’s a leader of his country. I say it’s better to get along with Russia than not.”
”And if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS [Islamic State], which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, that’s a good thing,” he also said, adding, “Will I get along with him? I have no idea.”
Despite expectations that the election of President Trump would give way to a new era of thawing relations between Cold War foes Russia and the U.S., Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly indicated, “There has been little meaningful communication between Washington and Moscow.”
The Independent noted:
The two leaders are yet to meet face to face, although they had a telephone conversation shortly after Mr. Trump was inaugurated, prompting speculation that three years of tensions between the two countries might be coming to an end.
But the phone call was said to have entailed only Mr. Putin offering his congratulations to Mr. Trump followed by a brief discussion on the current state of relations between the former Cold War enemies.
Russia’s expectations that sanctions against the Kremlin imposed for its intervention in Ukraine would be dropped after Trump took office have seemingly turned out to be nothing more than a pipe dream.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a better understanding of when this dialogue can begin,” Peskov told CNN.
Regarding “high confidence” accusations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia state-sponsored hacking has interfered with the election of Trump, the Kremlin spokesman said, “What we have seen — an open, a public part — of a report by one of the agencies, special agencies of the United States. And I would humbly say that it’s not a paper of high quality, in terms of being really trustful.”
President Trump has not directly criticized his Russian counterpart.
“If the two presidents are able to establish a rapport, it could pave the way for deals on Ukraine and Syria, the two major sources of friction between their countries during the administration of Barack Obama after Putin backed Assad in Syria, annexed Crimea and invaded Ukraine,” reported the Independent.
“Both leaders have spoken about ending the enmity that has dragged US-Russia relations to their lowest ebb since the Cold War,” it adds.