Putin’s Hope Springs Eternal for Improved Russia/US Relations
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)
US hostility toward Russia is longstanding, persisting since its 1917 revolution - interrupted only by interregnum periods during WW II, the Kennedy years, and Reagan/Gorbachev era.
Under the Clintons, Bush/Cheney, Obama and now Trump, bilateral relations worsened.
Today they’re more dismal than ever, Washington waging political and economic war on Russia.
The Pentagon surrounded its land mass with military bases, encircled it with hundreds of anti-ballistic missiles for offense, not defense.
A US-led NATO anti-Russia rapid reaction force was created, backed by additional large reserves. US warships provocatively patrol near Russian territory.
By abandoning the 1972 ABM treaty in 2002, Bush/Cheney initiated a new arms race and Cold War 2.0.
Longstanding US policy calls for replacing all sovereign independent governments with pro-Western puppet rule - Russia and China Washington’s main targets, the only two countries able to effectively challenge its drive for global hegemony.
Differences between the US and Sino/Russia remain irreconcilable. Bipartisan neocons infesting Washington are unrelenting in pursuing America’s imperial agenda.
Washington is a serial aggressor. Russia and China support world peace and stability.
Straightaway in office, Trump was co-opted to continue America’s permanent war policy, to maintain hostility toward Russia over improved bilateral relations.
Virtually no chance exists for normalizing them in our lifetimes. Washington bears full responsibility, not Moscow.
Interviewed by Russian television host Vladimir Solovyov for a World Order 2018 documentary, Putin expressed hope for improved relations with America, saying nations hostile to Moscow “will eventually see it boomerang on them,” adding:
“Those who brew poison somewhere, will ultimately swallow it themselves and get poisoned with it.”
He stressed the importance of “maintain(ing) a principled, honest and open stance (in) relations with people and in the international arena,” calling it a way to build trust and command respect, the “basis for cooperation.”
He called irresponsibly imposed sanctions on Russia a sign of weakness, not strength - “a manifestation of incompetence” for pursuing wrongheaded policies.
He’s disappointed with US policies toward Russia, its “entire system,” not Trump, believing “compromises may be reached” with him.
He’s used to being wrongfully vilified in the West, noting “not everyone” in Western countries share this view.
Unrelenting US hostility toward Russia is key, pressuring other countries to support its agenda.
European and other nations bow to Washington’s will - why endless wars rage, no prospect of ending them as long as dominant US neocons want them pursued.
Nor will bilateral relations with Russia improve as long as America remains intolerant of sovereign independent countries.
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