Stephen Lendman

According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House “pushe(d) off the Kremlin’s proposals for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin and takes an increasingly skeptical view of reaching a grand bargain with Moscow.”

In mid-April, Tillerson will meet with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow for the first time since a brief get-to-know-you meeting on the sidelines of the Bonn, Germany G20 foreign ministers summit.

Heightened anti-Russia sentiment in Washington prevents improved bilateral relations, unlikely any time ahead as long as it’s prudent to predict.

Republican and Democrat senators vowed to “go wherever the intelligence leads us.” House members are “bogged down amid partisan acrimony,” the Journal explained.

US intelligence claims about Russian US elections hacking were fabricated. No evidence corroborates them. None exists except what’s invented - to bash Russia and undermine Trump.

It’s hard imagining anything positive developing ahead. US hostility toward Russia is longstanding.

It’s all about its sovereign independence. During Putin’s tenure, it’s because of his anti-imperial/multi-world polarity advocacy - in stark contrast to America’s rogue agenda.

The Journal quoted mixed signals from an unnamed senior Trump official, saying he’s “looking for and at potential areas of cooperation,” but is mindful of differences between both countries on major geopolitical issues, adding:

“We don’t want to be in a position where we do a lot of giving and don’t get a lot in return.”

Since the Soviet Union’s dissolution, Russia gave plenty in return for nothing except broken US promises.

At Thursday’s Arkhangelsk, Russia International Arctic Forum, Putin said he’s ready to meet with Trump at the September 18 - 20 Arctic Energy Summit in Helsinki, Finland.

An alternate time and place could be the July 7 and 8 Hamburg, Germany G20 summit. US hostility created deplorable bilateral relations, he explained.

He’s eager to change things, provided Russia’s sovereignty and interests are respected.

On a CNBC-moderated panel at the International Arctic Forum, Putin called accusations about Russian US election hacking “lies… used for domestic American political agendas.”

When asked directly if Russia interfered with last year’s campaign, he borrowed the phrase once used by GHW Bush, saying: “Read my lips. No” - the first three words in Russian, the last one with emphasis in English.

US accusations about Russian hacking, “Russian aggression,” and other claims against Putin and his nation are Big Lies.

Repeated enough times gets most people to believe them. Not a shred of evidence supports them.

As long as US Russia bashing persists, chances for better relations are nil.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at http://www.sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.