LordOfLore
Banned
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Russia called on U.S. President Donald Trump to live up to his pledge to improve relations, amid growing unease in Moscow about prospects for easing tensions with the new administration.
The White Houses call for Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine is at odds with Trumps pre-election pledge to improve relations, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament, told lawmakers Wednesday, the Interfax news service reported. They should wait for Trumps own words on the subject and everything will be fine if he fulfills his election program, Volodin said.
Crimea is a part of Russia and its status wont be discussed with the U.S., while news reports that Russian intelligence officers met with members of Trumps election campaign arent based on any facts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. Russian contacts that took place with Trumps team were normal diplomatic practice, he said. Russias Foreign Intelligence Service declined to comment on what it called unsubstantiated speculation.
Fallout from Mondays resignation of U.S. National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for his contacts with the Russian ambassador in Washington is adding to fading optimism in Moscow that Trump will end years of confrontation over the Ukrainian conflict and the war in Syria. Trump said before his election that he may end U.S. sanctions imposed over Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump expects the Russian government to deescalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea.
Military Tensions
Military tensions are also resurfacing for the first time since Trumps election in November. Russia is meeting its commitments under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Peskov said, after the New York Times reported Wednesday that the Russian military has deployed a new cruise missile that U.S. officials say violates the pact.
The Defense Ministry in Moscow also on Wednesday rejected allegations that its jets came close to a U.S. warship in the Black Sea last week, saying in a statement that all its aircraft flew over neutral waters in accordance with international rules.
While Russias committed to full restoration of ties, we see that pressure is continuing on Trump from forces in the U.S. who are trying to push anti-Russian stereotypes, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russias upper house of parliament and the countrys third most senior politician, told journalists on Wednesday, according to Interfax.
The Black Sea incident shows Russia is not happy with U.S. activities there, Ruslan Pukhov, director of Moscow-based CAST center for military studies, said by phone. We are always very nervous when warships are close to Russia and such things dont really depend on ties with Trump.