Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met this weekend, both eager to try to make some progress on the ever-worsening bilateral relations. The meetings were civil, but did they accomplish anything?
That’s not clear. New US sanctions over the past week, and retaliatory measures from Russia are looming large, and seem to still be driving the relationship to new lows, irrespective of anything that the face-to-face talks involve.
Lavrov said that Tillerson was mainly interested in details about how Russia’s retaliatory expulsions would work, and that he provided him with such details. Tillerson declined to comment to the media at all, which doesn’t suggest they did anything earth-shattering.
That failure is likely to add to Russia’s view that the Trump Administration is simply powerless to improve relations even when they want to, and that the pervasive anti-Russia sentiment within the US Congress will likely preclude any real rapprochement for the time being.
“…pervasive anti-Russia sentiment within the US Congress will likely preclude any real rapprochement for the time being.”
Nailed it!!! The Trump people are so afraid of pissing off Congress that they will forego trying to implement their own plans.
The Secretary of State no longer has the power to conduct diplomacy with Russia. Congress made this change – and the Executive branch signed off on it. Therefore, Congress should appoint their own entourage to talk with Russian officials. Of course they won’t, because the objective of the “Countering America’s Adversaries Act” was to make diplomacy impossible.
Russia is wasting its efforts talking to the United States. It must put all its effort into European, Asian and South American relationships.
In fact U.S. congress has tied Trumps hands if he wishes to make peace . We need to have a referendum to get rid of every one except the 5 that wanted to let Trump have the power to make peace . We only need Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders in congress and 3 other guys . All the rest of congress should be sent home .Or we should go there and kidnap them .
Bill Clinton did not even ask congress before he bombed Yugoslavia after first pulling off several false flag attacks in order to have some thing to respond too . Trump was allowed to bomb Syria’s air base responding to another likely false flag gas attack . Many in congress seemed very happy about this Trump recieved a lot of praise for this bombing . What if Russia should treat us like we treat them ? What if Russia should arm our enemies like we arm their enemies only better . Russia could easily give N Korea 20 of their better ICBM so that N Korea could better protect themselves . Russia could offer to send N Korea some advisors like advisors we sent to Georgia and we have in Ukraine .
It must be tough for Tillerson to have to go up against the pre-eminent diplomat in the world. Knowing the truth behind what happened in the Ukraine and Crimea and having to pretend it isn’t so must be embarrassing for Tillerson.