The Trump Administration and U.S.–Russian Relations

Abstract

President Trump’s controversial foreign policy performance, particularly in relation to Russia, raises the question of his administration’s stance towards U.S.–Russian relations. While the President has displayed initial intentions of reaching out to Moscow, his administration’s overall view of the world sets U.S.–Russian relations in a competition-based framework. This “global arena” perspective is reflected in official national security policy documents and by major foreign policy decisionmakers as well. Thus the Trump Administration not only maintains its predecessor’s initiatives countering Russia but enhances them by further emphasizing deterrence and containment measures in Europe through an increased European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) budget, addressing Russian violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and arming Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons.