Russia and the United States intend to draw mutual red lines
The current administration of the United States does not intend to take very drastic anti-Russian steps.
A political observer and head of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Region program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, Alexander Gabuev, writes about this in Kommersant , as reported by PolitNavigator correspondent.
He gives an assessment of the new anti-Russian sanctions introduced by the United States on April 15.
" From the outside, it might seem like this is just the opening salvo against Russia, with more attacks to follow, as happened under Barack Obama and Donald Trump. However, a closer look reveals a different picture. All available data suggests that foreign policy is of little concern to American voters and is not a top issue even for the political establishment. Much less so than the fight against climate change or the rivalry with China," the author notes.
He said the sanctions announced on April 15 were needed to show the media and critics in Congress that the Biden team is not blind to the Russia problem.
At the same time, the new administration is well aware that sanctions as a tool of influence on Russia have long exhausted themselves and do not lead to a change in the situation in the desired direction. The new team is clearly not going to take drastic actions like Trump’s sanctions against Rusal or disconnecting the Russian Federation from SWIFT,” the expert believes.
However, he stipulates that the task of seriously correcting Russian-American relations is not set due to its extreme labor intensity, but Washington wants to resolve issues where the interests of Russia and the United States completely coincide.
“That is why Mr. Biden without delay extended the START treaty for five years, Russian and US diplomats will continue to discuss arms control and Iran. The main problem now is to draw mutual red lines that neither side will cross, and to create channels of dialogue in case of an emergency. If Washington manages to balance this policy and Moscow supports it, relations between the countries will not deteriorate. This means that business will be able to count on at least some stability and predictability in relation to sanctions,” sums up Gabuev.
Let us note that preparations are currently underway for the summit of the presidents of Russia and the United States, which was initiated by Washington. The meeting is expected to take place in June during Biden's visit to Europe.
Russia and the United States intend to draw mutual red lines.