Ex-Pentagon chief: communications of the Russian Federation and the United States at the trump only got worse
Robert gates has also accused Russia of meddling in elections in the West, but added that it was provoked by the actions of the United States.
WASHINGTON, may 15. /Offset. TASS Dmitry Kirsanov/. Russian-American relations only worsened after coming to power of President Donald trump. This opinion was expressed by former U.S. Secretary of defense Robert gates.
According to him, the new US administration, despite the fact that trump says about the intention to normalize ties with Moscow, “not doing the Russians any favors”. “I think one of the things that surprised people is the fact that relations between the US and Russia after the election, the reality has worsened,” said gates, speaking to TV channel CBS.
He is considered one of the most respected veterans of American politics. In 2006-11 years gates was Pentagon chief in 1991-93 was head of the CIA, and in 1986-89 he was Deputy assistant for national security at U.S. President George H. W. Bush.
As explained by an eminent retiree, personally it strikes the most “pretty stark” contrast between the way the current Executive branch in Washington is courting China and how it relates to Russia.
In this regard, gates said that he sees no breakthrough in relations of Moscow and Washington in a recent meeting between the tramp and the Minister of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. As he emphasized, “what really matters are policies and actions” of the administration. “And in these areas they (leaders of the American government) was quite hardcoded (to Russia),” stated gates.
“Soviet foreign Ministers routinely kept arriving (the White house) to meet with the President. Jimmy Carter stopped it after the invasion of Afghanistan. As I recall, Ronald Reagan resumed this practice in 1984. Therefore, the fact of such a meeting is, I think, is not so big deal,” said gates.
He also accused Russia of meddling in elections in the West, but added that it was provoked by the actions of the United States. Washington “essentially opposed campaign re-election” of President Vladimir Putin in 2012, the Russian leader “saw the US intervention in all the color revolutions in Eastern Europe, Georgia and Ukraine,” says gates. According to the ex-defense Minister, Prime Minister’s opinion “was the fact that the West interfered in his policies for years… and he strategically decided to return the favor, to do everything in his power… to try to show the rest of the world that Western elections are illegitimate.”
In addition, the former head of a key intelligence Agency, the US called “stretch” the assumption that Moscow could blackmail Michael Flynn, who had soon after his appointment to resign as assistant to trump national security in the Wake of the scandal surrounding his contacts with the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak.