US sanctions against Russia will be unnecessary if Moscow refrains from "aggression abroad and becomes a friendly partner" of Washington. This was written by the adviser to the President of the United States for national security Robert O'Brien in an article for The Washington Post.

“No president since Reagan has shown such determination in relations with Russia. Like Reagan, President Trump seeks to find a new path for their development - one in which Russia refrains from aggression abroad and becomes a friendly partner of the United States and Europe. In such a world, sanctions against Russia will not be needed and trade between our countries will flourish. Russians, Americans and the whole world would only benefit from such a relationship, ”O'Brien wrote.

At the same time, the United States is "cautiously optimistic" about the possibility of reaching an agreement with Moscow and Beijing on arms control norms, the politician said.

“Like (Ronald. - RT ) Reagan, President Trump strives for good relations with all states, including Russia. But no country, including Russia, should question the president's commitment to protecting the United States and our allies, ”said the adviser to the American leader.

After that, O'Brien's rhetoric in the material changes and becomes more negative. In particular, the American adviser did not fail to note that if the information that appeared in the media about the "conspiracy" between Moscow and the Taliban * is confirmed, Moscow will "pay" for it.

“Russia knows from experience that if the recent reports of its malicious activities against the Americans in Afghanistan are confirmed, it will have to pay for it - even if the price never becomes public,” he said.

We will remind, earlier the Russian side has repeatedly stated that the data published by NYT journalists do not correspond to reality. The US authorities also did not confirm the veracity of reports of "payments" to the Taliban.

Then O'Brien listed numerous sanctions that the US administration has recently imposed on Moscow, in particular, restrictions against the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream projects. The US National Security Adviser emphasized: "Unfortunately, such steps are necessary, given the actions of Russia, which pose a threat to the United States and its allies."

  • National Security Adviser to the President of the United States Robert O'Brien
  • Reuters
  • © Joshua Roberts

After that, O'Brien brought up a series of old accusations against Russia, which have already been categorically rejected by Moscow more than once. In particular, he recalled Moscow's notorious "interference" in the "elections in the West in 2016 and 2017", its support for "violent regimes" in Syria and Venezuela, alleged participation in cyber attacks on the United States and its allies, violation of treaties in the sphere of control over weapons and even about the history of the so-called Skripal case.

According to the adviser to the head of the White House, "in order to contain Russian aggression and protect the allies" of the United States on NATO, Trump has allocated additional billions of dollars for the European Containment Initiative (EDI).

As O'Brien emphasized, the American leader "knows that the key to peace is strength."

“For this reason, his administration has embarked on the largest modernization of the US military in history,” said an adviser to the American leader.

"Pre-election factor" and "China card"

As Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in an interview with RT, O'Brien's statements once again indicate Washington's desire to "create a model of international order in which Russia would be on the periphery of world development."

“But Moscow does not agree with this outcome. O'Brien, speaking of Russia's "aggression" "abroad", means primarily the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the Syrian campaign. But in both of these cases, there is no talk of any aggression. Washington is substituting concepts, stating that everything will allegedly be fine if Russia ceases to be Russia, abandons its foreign policy course and national interests, "Blokhin said.

Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Political-Military Studies at the Institute for the United States and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shares this opinion.

“In this case, the United States is demanding from Russia unconditional surrender - a foreign policy under strict American control in exchange for a promise to lift anti-Russian sanctions in an uncertain future. However, Moscow will not fall for these tricks, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.

According to Batyuk, declaring the alleged aggressive actions of Russia in the international arena, the United States "is showing its hypocrisy."

“According to the position of the American side, the deployment by Russia of its own armed forces on the territory of the Russian Federation, for example, in the Kaliningrad region, is an aggression against all of Europe. And the US presence at several hundred military installations around the globe is America's contribution to the cause of peace and the liberal world order, ”the analyst said.

Batyuk also explained that the topic of rapprochement with Russia, albeit with such significant reservations, is "the factor of the pre-election campaign."

“The presidential administration realizes that some of the American voters - both Democrats and Republicans - are very concerned about the state of the complete collapse of arms control mechanisms. And this is an extremely dangerous situation. Therefore, now they are trying to achieve additional points for Trump with such statements, ”the expert said.

Another reason why Washington is now talking about improving relations with Russia is the "Chinese card", Batyuk believes.

  • US President Donald Trump
  • Reuters
  • © Carlos Barria

“Washington actually declared a cold war on Beijing. And then, naturally, the question arose about Russia's position. The Russian side, if it fully takes the side of China in this conflict, will be able to thwart many of the anti-Chinese designs of the United States. Hence this “interest” in Russian-American relations, ”the analyst noted.

Blokhin believes that Washington also wants to influence China with its statements on rapprochement with Russia on the issue of its joining the negotiations on strategic arms control.

“However, Beijing will not sit down at the negotiating table. First, it does not participate in multilateral agreements. Secondly, he believes that Russia and the United States account for most of the nuclear potential, ”the expert explained.

At the same time, the fact that "along with statements about a desire to be friends" O'Brien threatened Russia with possible retribution for the "collusion with the Taliban" attributed to it, speaks of Washington's attempt to apply a "carrot and stick policy" to Russia, Blokhin believes.

“But such an approach will not lead to anything positive in Russian-American relations, but will only strengthen Moscow's allied relations with Beijing and other international players. In fact, through such a game, Washington is only isolating itself, ”the analyst said.

"The relationship is waiting for a pause"

Recall that Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to improve relations with Moscow. He spoke about this both during his election campaign in 2016 and throughout his presidential term. At the same time, experts note that the number of such statements increased in 2019 - after the publication in April of a report by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, which concludes that the investigation did not establish links between Trump and his campaign headquarters with Moscow during the 2016 presidential elections.

In mid-May last year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said that he had arrived on a visit to Russia, since the head of the White House is aimed at improving ties with Moscow. In early June, Trump himself announced that there could be good relations between Russia and the United States. And at the end of July, the American leader noted that Washington has no reason not to get along with Moscow.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with RT Arabic, Sky News and Al Arabiya in October 2019, despite the fact that the head of the White House has repeatedly spoken out in favor of normalizing contacts with the Russian side, "the domestic political agenda does not allow the incumbent president to take steps to dramatically improve." these relationships.

  • Flags of Russia and USA
  • Gettyimages.ru
  • © mashabuba

Analysts also draw attention to the fact that a new wave of statements about the desire to improve relations with Russia began to come from the American leadership after the Senate issued an acquittal in the impeachment case against the 45th President of the United States in February 2020.

A few days later, US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan announced that he had received instructions from Donald Trump to improve relations between Washington and Moscow.

The Russian ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, reacted to this then, reporting the importance of establishing US-Russian ties for the whole world. At the same time, the diplomat noted that Moscow will accommodate every country that wants to build relations with Russia "on the basis of mutual respect and balance of interests."

According to Konstantin Blokhin, Trump "really wanted to improve relations with the Russian Federation, but the American establishment did not let him do it."

"The incumbent head of the White House adheres to the point of view that American opportunities are limited and it will not be possible to control the world as before, therefore it is necessary to establish ties with Russia," the expert noted.

At the same time, Blokhin predicts that if Trump wins in the upcoming elections, Russian-American "relations will still have a pause," since his opponents "will continue to sabotage the Russian direction."

“If Joe Biden suddenly comes to power, then the US anti-Russian campaign will intensify and become even more sophisticated,” the analyst believes.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.