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WASHINGTON. — With US-Russia tensions on the rise especially over disagreements involving the war in Syria, US experts said that though not as hostile as they were in the Cold War, ties are certainly at their frostiest in several years and may get worse before they get better.
This was underscored by reports on Tuesday that an armed Russian fighter jet buzzed within five feet of a US Air Force reconnaissance plane in the Baltic Sea, which happened after US planes shot down a Syrian air force jet on Sunday.
US-Russia tensions are high in Syria after the Kremlin warned it would target any US-led coalition’s aircraft flying west of the Euphrates River.
“US-Russia relations are frosty,” Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua. “Trump has not delivered on his promise for better relations with Moscow and the Congress is moving towards expanding sanctions against Russia,” West said.
“There are disagreements on the Syrian war and each country harbors grave suspicions about the other. It is hard in this type of situation for there to be any cooperation on foreign policy issues,” West said.
“The two countries don’t see eye-to-eye on many issues,” West said, noting that Trump spent considerable time on the campaign trail promising closer relations with Russia.
“This relationship could get worse before it gets better. The Syrian situation could escalate quickly into a hot war if Russia shoots down a US military plane. — Xinhua
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