For Putin, Trumps presidency has not lived up to expectations [View all]

[Gothmog]

Putin is not getting the return on his investment that he expected http://thehill.com/opinion/international/366455-for-putin-trumps-presidency-has-not-lived-up-to-expectations

For both Russia and the U.S. 2017 was year of mutual frustration in their relations. Vladimir Putin clearly anticipated, as did the Russian elite, that President Trump would make good on his frequent assertions that he would repair relations with Moscow. Yet by year’s end both Trump’s rhetoric and Putin’s hopes were dashed.

Indeed, in December 2017 the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia and selected individual Russian elites for violating the INF treaty and under the terms of the newly enacted “Global Magnitsky Law.”

The administration also published a new National Security Strategy forthrightly accusing Russia of intervening in the U.S. elections and portraying as an aggressor and threat to European if not global security, announced the first steps in providing Ukraine with weapons to defend against Russian aggression, and forcefully intensified the reinforcement of NATO forces in Europe and overall ties with European allies.

Needless to say, all of these moves aroused enormous anger and frustration in Moscow even though Putin formally claims that Russia still seeks partnership with the U.S. or at least cooperation on issues of mutual concern and interest.