.svg) | |
 Russia |  United States |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Russia, Washington, D.C. | Embassy of the United States, Moscow |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorAlexander Darchiev | Chargé d'affaires ad interim J. Douglas Dykhouse |
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TheUnited States andRussia maintain one of the most important, critical, and strategic foreign relations in the world. They have had diplomatic relations since the establishment of the latter country in 1991, a continuation of the relationship the United States has had with various Russian governments since 1803.[1] While both nations have shared interests innuclear safety and security,nonproliferation,counterterrorism, andspace exploration, their relationship has been shown through cooperation, competition, and hostility, with both countries considering one another foreign adversaries for much of their relationship. Since the beginning of thesecond Trump administration, the countries have pursued normalization and the bettering of relations, largely centered around the resolution of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
After thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of theCold War, the relationship was generally warm under Russian presidentBoris Yeltsin (1991–99). In the early years of Yeltsin's presidency, the United States and Russia established a cooperative relationship and worked closely together to address global issues such asarms control, counterterrorism, and theconflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During Yeltsin's second term, United States–Russia relations became more strained. TheNATO intervention in Yugoslavia, in particular, the 1999NATO intervention in Kosovo, wasstrongly opposed by Yeltsin.[2][3][4][5] Although the Soviet Union had been strongly opposed by theTitovian flavour of independence, Yeltsin saw it as an infringement on Russia's latter-day sphere of influence.[citation needed]Yeltsin also criticized NATO'sexpansion into Eastern Europe, which he saw as a threat to Russia's security.[6]
AfterVladimir Putin became President of Russia in 2000, he initially sought to improve relations with the United States. The two countries cooperated on issues such as counterterrorism and arms control. Putin worked closely with United States presidentGeorge W. Bush on thewar in Afghanistan following the9/11 attacks. Following Putin'sre-election to the Russian presidency in 2012, relations between the two countries were significantly strained due to Russia'sannexation of Crimea and theRussian military intervention in Ukraine. Deterioration continued with theRussian military intervention in theSyrian Civil War.
Relations further deteriorated during the presidency ofJoe Biden following theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[7]International sanctions imposed since 2014 were significantly expanded by the U.S. and its allies, including several state-owned banks and oligarchs.[8] During the second presidency ofDonald Trump, the United States has moved to normalize relations with Russia and has sided with Russia in the United Nations, voting against a resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2025, in a dramatic departure from the long-standing American position on the conflict since 2014.[9] Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth has also ordered the suspension of offensive cyber operations against Russia.
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Russia |  United States |
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Official contacts between theRussian Empire and the new United States began in 1776. Russia, while formally neutral during theAmerican Revolution (1765–1783), favored the U.S.[10]
There was little trade or migration before the late 19th century. Formal diplomatic ties were established in 1809.[11] During theAmerican Civil War, Russia supportedthe Union, largely because it believed that the U.S. served as a counterbalance to its geopolitical rival, the United Kingdom. In 1863, theRussian Navy's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively.[12]
Russia operated a small fur-trade operations inAlaska, coupled with missionaries to the natives. By 1861, the project had lost money, threatened to antagonize the Americans, and could not be defended from Britain. It proved practically impossible to entice Russians to permanently migrate to Alaska; only a few hundred were there in 1867. In theAlaska Purchase of 1867, the land was sold to the United States for $7.2 million.[13][14]
The Russian administrators and military left Alaska, but some missionaries stayed on to minister to the many natives who converted to theRussian Orthodox faith.[15]
After 1880, repeated anti-Jewishpogroms in Russia alienated American elite and public opinion. In 1903, theKishinev pogrom killed 47 Jews, injured 400, and left 10,000 homeless and dependent on relief. American Jews began large-scale organized financial help and assisted in emigration.[16]
TheTreaty of Portsmouth (1905), brokered by United States presidentTheodore Roosevelt, ended theRusso-Japanese War.[17]
DuringWorld War I, theUnited States declaration of war on Germany (1917) came afterNicholas II had abdicated as a result of theFebruary Revolution. When the tsar was still in power, many Americans deplored fighting a war with him as an ally. With him gone, theWilson administration used the new provisional government to describe how the democratic nations were fighting against autocratic old empires ofGermany andAustria-Hungary. During the war, theAmerican Expeditionary Forces were just starting to see battle when theOctober Revolution happened in which theBolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and removed Russia from the war.
Before the armistice in November 1918, the Americans had helped theAllied intervention in the Russian Civil War with thePolar Bear Expedition and theAmerican Expeditionary Force Siberia. The Americans' goal was not necessarily ideological but rather to prevent the German enemy from gaining access to war supplies controlled by the Bolsheviks, though the United States also tacitly supported theWhite movement against the Bolsheviks.[18]
From 1820 until 1917, about 3.3 millionimmigrants arrived in the U.S. from the Russian Empire. Most were Jews, Poles, or Lithuanians; only 100,000 were ethnic Russians.[19][20]
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 Soviet Union |  United States |
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By 1921, after theBolsheviks gained the upper hand in theRussian Civil War,executed theRomanov imperial family, repudiated thetsarist debt, and called for a world revolution by the working class, it was regarded as apariah nation by most of the world.[21] Beyond the Russian Civil War, relations were also dogged by claims of American companies for compensation for thenationalized industries they had invested in.[22] The U.S., while starting to develop trade and economic ties, was the last major world power that continued to refuse to formally recognize the Soviet government.[23] The United States and Soviet Russia established diplomatic relations in November 1933.[24]
The United States and the Soviet Union, along with Britain, were the leaders of theAllies against theAxis powers duringWorld War II. Following the onset of theCold War in 1947, theNorth Atlantic Treaty was signed by the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations, on April 4, 1949, a treaty that established theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) designed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.[25]
The first bilateral treaty between the U.S. and Soviet Russia/USSR was aconsular convention signed in Moscow in June 1964.[26][27] In 1975, theHelsinki Final Act was signed by a multitude of countries, including the USSR and the US, and, while not having a binding legal power of a treaty, it effectively signified the U.S.-led West's recognition of the Soviet Union's dominance inEastern Europe and acceptance of theSoviet annexation ofEstonia,Latvia andLithuania that had been effected in 1940. The Act came to play a role in subsequently ending the Cold War.[28]
In the 1970s—1980s, the USSR and the U.S. signed a series ofarms control treaties such as theAnti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972), twoStrategic Arms Limitation treaties (SALT), theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (1987); in July 1991 theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty was concluded.
In the late 1980s,Eastern Europe nations took advantage of the relaxation ofSoviet control underGeneral SecretaryMikhail Gorbachev and began tobreak away from communist rule. The relationship greatly improved in the final years of the USSR.
On December 3, 1989, Soviet general secretary Gorbachev and U.S. presidentGeorge H. W. Bush declared theCold War over at theMalta Summit.[29]
Both countries agreed to cut their strategic nuclear weapons by 30 percent, and the Soviet Union promised to reduce itsintercontinental ballistic missile force by 50 percent.[30] In August 1991, hard-line Communists launched acoup against Gorbachev; while the coup quickly fell apart, it broke the remaining power of Gorbachev and the central Soviet government.[31] Later that month, Gorbachev resigned asgeneral secretary of the Communist party, but remainedpresident of the Soviet Union, and Russian presidentBoris Yeltsin ordered the seizure of Soviet property. Gorbachev clung to power as the president of the Soviet Union until December 25, 1991, when the Soviet Uniondissolved.[32]Fifteen states emerged from the Soviet Union, with the largest and most populous one,Russia, taking full responsibility for all the rights and obligations of the USSR under the Charter of the United Nations, including the financial obligations. As such, Russia assumed the Soviet Union'sUN membership and permanent membership on the Security Council, nuclear stockpile and the control over the armed forces; Soviet embassies abroad became Russian embassies.[33] Bush and Yeltsin met in February 1992, declaring a new era of "friendship and partnership".[34] In January 1993, Bush and Yeltsin agreed toSTART II, which provided for further nuclear arms reductions on top of the original START treaty.[35]
With Communist politicians and parties in Eastern Europe mostly defunct, on December 26, 1991, the Soviet Unionself-dissolved, and theCommonwealth of Independent States, a loose association was formed on December 8–21 by eventually 12 of the 15Soviet constituent Union Republics, leaving out earlier the threeBaltic states.[36] TheRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the Russian Federation. It was now an independent state that inherited the USSR'sUN Security Council permanent membership and became thesole continuator state to the USSR and one of 12 successor states to the USSR.
Security issues have always been among the most important between the U.S. and Russia. Immediately after the signing of theAgreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States on December 8, 1991, Russian president Yeltsin called U.S. presidentGeorge H. W. Bush and specifically read him Article 6 of the Agreement. "First of all, I talked withUSSR Minister of Defense Shaposhnikov. I want to read the 6th Article of the Agreement. As a matter of fact Shaposhnikov fully agreed and supported our position. I am now reading Article 6." ... "Please note well the next paragraph, Mr. President (and I urge the interpreter to translate this precisely)." ... "Dear George, I am finished. This is extremely, extremely important. Because of the tradition between us, I couldn't even wait ten minutes to call you."[37] According to the text of Article 6, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus form a "common military and strategic space" and "united armed forces."[38][39]
CurrentUS Secretary of StateJames Baker stated that no one but Russia could control Soviet nuclear weapons, in particular, making a statement on December 10, 1991, atPrinceton University.[40]
On December 21, 1991, Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, sent a letter toNATO asking it to consider accepting Russia as a member of the alliance sometime in the future. In the letter to NATO, Yeltsin stated, "This would contribute to an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust and would strengthen stability and cooperation on the European continent. We regard this relationship as serious and wish to develop this dialog on all fronts, both on the political and military levels. Today we raise the issue of Russia's membership in NATO, however, we see this as a long-term political goal."[41] TheCollective Security Treaty within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed On May 15, 1992.[42] (A separate organization outside the CIS framework calledCollective Security Treaty Organization was created in 2002).
On January 31, 1992, Yeltsin attended a UN Security Council meeting and said: "I think the time has come to consider creating aglobal defence system for the world community. We are ready to participate actively in building and putting in place apan-European collective security system – in particular during the Vienna talks and the upcoming post-Helsinki-II talks on security and cooperation in Europe. Russia regards the United States and the West not as mere partners but rather as allies.[43]
Strobe Talbott, who was Washington's chief expert on Russia, has argued that Clinton hit it off with RussianBoris Yeltsin, the president of Russia 1991–1999:
As the collapse of theSoviet Union appeared imminent, theUnited States and theirNATO allies grew concerned of the risk of nuclear weapons held in theSoviet republics falling into enemy hands. TheCooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program was initiated by theNunn–Lugar Act (really theSoviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991), which was authored and cosponsored bySens.Sam Nunn (D-GA) andRichard Lugar (R-IN). According to the CTR website, the purpose of the CTR Program was originally "to secure and dismantleweapons of mass destruction and their associated infrastructure in former Soviet Union states."
Relations between Yeltsin and the administrations ofGeorge H. W. Bush (1989–1993) andBill Clinton (1993–2001) started off well, but deteriorated after 1997. Yeltsin and his foreign ministerAndrey Kozyrev made a high priority Russia's full membership into the family of democratic nations. They wanted to be a partner of the United States. At home they tried to create democratic institutions and a free-market capitalist system.
In 1993, both nations signed theSTART II arms control treaty that was designed to ban the use ofmultiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) onintercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The treaty was eventually ratified by both countries, yet it was never implemented and was formally abandoned in 2002, following the U.S.'s withdrawal from the 1972Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
Clinton and Yeltsin were personally friendly. Washington encouraged the rapid transition to a liberal capitalist system in Russia.[45] Clinton provided rich talking points but provided less than $3 billion, and much was paid to American contractors. The Russians—aware of the Marshall Plan in the 1940s—had counted on far larger sums.[46] A 1995 NATO study on enlarging the alliance, and the 1999 admission of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland into NATO, alarmed Russia.[47] With the Cold War over, Russians felt NATO's original role was no longer needed. It feared itsdramatic move eastward meant an escalation of NATO's historic role in containment of Russian goals.[48][49] Fears over NATO enlargement contributed to the rise ofVladimir Putin and his emphasis on Russian nationalism and security issues.[47]
On January 14, 1994, Russian president Boris Yeltsin said at a meeting with his American counterpartBill Clinton inNovo-Ogaryovo."Russia has to be the first country to join NATO. Then the others from Central and Eastern Europe can come in. There should be a kind of cartel of the U.S., Russia, and the Europeans to help ensure and improve world security." "In truth, Russia is not yet ready to join NATO. Russia firsts needs to start thinking about reactions in other areas. There is a potential Chinese reaction. As a result, without cooperation between the two of us it is hard to envisage continuation of a peaceful and stable world. If we continue to work together as you suggest, we can do much to ensure peace and stability for Europe and for the rest of the world."[50][51][52]
In September 1994, Boris Yeltsin addressed the UN General Assembly and mentioned the role of theCSCE in the European security system. Russia had previously proposed the idea of increasing the role of the CSCE to the detriment of NATO. Yeltsin's national security aide Yuri Baturin noted that after the end of the Cold War, 'the time of NATO has passed,' and therefore the alliance 'should change its mechanisms and goals taking into account Russia's military and political weight.' Baturin believes that 'a new mechanism of European security could be born from the combination of the CSCE and NATO, where the CSCE bodies would represent the political and diplomatic part, and NATO bodies would represent the military part.' But Yeltsin himself did not make such a statement.[53] By 1995 theAgreement on the creation the Commonwealth of Independent States, including the Article 6 on "common military and strategic space", came into force for all 12 countries.[54]
On March 21, 1997, Yeltsin stated to Bill Clinton in Finland: "Our position has not changed. It remains a mistake for NATO to move eastward. But I need to take steps to alleviate the negative consequences of this for Russia. I am prepared to enter into an agreement with NATO not because I want to but because it is a forced step. There is no other solution for today. The principal issues for me are the following. The agreement must be legally binding – signed by all 16 Allies. Decisions by NATO are not to be taken without taking into account the concerns or opinions of Russia. Also, nuclear and conventional arms cannot move eastward into new members to the borders of Russia, thus creating a new cordon sanitaire aimed at Russia. But one thing is very important: enlargement shouldn't embrace the former Soviet republics. I cannot sign any agreement without such language. Especially Ukraine. If you get them involved, it will create difficulties in our talks with Ukraine on a number of issues."[55][56]
Russia stridently opposed the U.S.-ledNATO military operation againstSerbia and Montenegro overKosovo that began in March 1999.[57][58][59] In December 1999, while on a visit to China, President Yeltsin verbally assailed Clinton for criticizing Russia's tactics inChechnya (at the start of theSecond Chechen War) emphatically stating that Russia remained a nuclear power.[60]
In 2001, in response to theterrorist attacks on September 11, the new Russian president Vladimir Putin quickly announced strong support. Terrorism against Russia was already high on Putin's agenda and he found common ground by supporting the American/NATO invasion of Afghanistan to destroy theTaliban that had harbored theAl-Qaeda terrorists.[61] By 2002, however, the two countries were escalating their disagreements. Russia became more assertive in international affairs;George W. Bush took an increasingly unilateral course inforeign policy.[62]
In 2002, the United States withdrew from theAnti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to move forward with plans for amissile defense system. Putin called the decision a mistake. Russia strongly opposed the 2003invasion of Iraq, though without exercising its veto in theUnited Nations Security Council. Russia has regarded the expansion of NATO into the oldEastern Bloc, and U.S. efforts to gain access toCentral Asian oil and natural gas as a potentially hostile encroachment on Russia'ssphere of influence. The Russian leadership blamed U.S. officials for encouraging anti-Russian revolts during theRose Revolution in Georgia in 2003 and theOrange Revolution inUkraine in 2004. Putin saw intrusions into Russia's historic sphere of interest.[63][64]
Russia condemned the unilateraldeclaration of independence of Kosovo fromSerbia in February 2008,[65] stating they "expect the UN mission and NATO-led forces in Kosovo to take immediate action to carry out their mandate [...] including the annulling of the decisions of Pristina's self-governing organs and the taking of tough administrative measures against them."[66] Russian president Putin described the recognition of Kosovo's independence by the United States and other Western countries as "a terrible precedent, which will de facto blow apart the whole system of international relations, developed not over decades, but over centuries", and that "they have not thought through the results of what they are doing. At the end of the day it is a two-ended stick and the second end will come back and hit them in the face".[67] In March 2014, Russia used Kosovo's declaration of independence as a justification for recognizingthe independence of Crimea, citing the so-called "Kosovo independence precedent".[68][69]
In early 2008, PresidentGeorge W. Bush vowed full support for admittingUkraine andGeorgia into NATO,[70] despite Russia's opposition to the furthereastward expansion of NATO.[71] Russia's Deputy Foreign MinisterGrigory Karasin warned that any incorporation of Ukraine into NATO would cause a "deep crisis" inRussia–Ukraine relations and also negatively affect Russia's relations with the West.[72]
In March 2007, the U.S. announced plans to build ananti-ballisticmissile defense installation in Poland along with a radar station in theCzech Republic. Both nations were formerWarsaw Pact members and both had repudiated Communism and Russian interference. U.S. officials said that the system was intended to protect the United States and Europe from possible nuclear missile attacks by Iran or North Korea. Russia, however, viewed the new system as a potential threat and, in response, tested a long-rangeintercontinental ballistic missile, theRS-24, which it claimed could defeat any defense system. Putin warned the U.S. that these new tensions could turn Europe into a powder keg. On June 3, 2007, Putin warned that if the United States built the missile defense system, Russia would consider targeting missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic.[73]
In October 2007, Vladimir Putin visited Iran to discuss Russia's aid to Iran's nuclear power program and "insisted that the use of force was unacceptable."[74] On October 17, Bush stated "if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," understood as a message to Putin.[75] A week later, Putin compared U.S. plans to put up a missile defense system near Russia's border as analogous to when the Soviet Union deployed missiles in Cuba, prompting theCuban Missile Crisis.[76]
In July 2008, Russia announced that if a U.S. anti-missile shield was deployed near the Russian border, it would have to react militarily. The statement from the Russian foreign ministry said, "If an American strategic anti-missile shield starts to be deployed near our borders, we will be forced to react not in a diplomatic fashion but with military-technical means." Later, Russia's ambassador to the United NationsVitaly Churkin said that "military-technical means" did not mean military action, but more likely a change in Russia's strategic posture, perhaps by redeploying its own missiles.[77]
On August 14, 2008, the U.S. and Poland agreed to have 10 two-stage missile interceptors – made byOrbital Sciences Corporation – placed in Poland, as part of a missile shield to defend Europe and the U.S. from a possible missile attack by Iran. In return, the U.S. agreed to move a battery ofMIM-104 Patriot missiles to Poland. The missile battery was to be staffed – at least temporarily – by U.S. Military personnel. The U.S. also pledged to defend Poland, aNATO member, quicker than NATO would in the event of an attack. Additionally, the Czech Republic recently agreed to allow the placement of a radar-tracking station in their country, despite public opinion polls showing that the majority of Czechs were against the plans and only 18% supported it.[78] The radar-tracking station in the Czech Republic would also be part of the missile defense shield. After the agreement was announced, Russian officials said defences on Russia's borders would be increased and that they foresaw harm in bilateral relations with the United States.[79]
In August 2008, United States-Russia bilateral relations became further strained, when Russia andGeorgia fought afive-day war over the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics ofSouth Ossetia andAbkhazia. President Bush said to Russia, "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."[80]
Despite U.S.–Russia relations becoming strained during theBush administration, Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev (president from May 2008 until May 2012, withVladimir Putin as Prime Minister during this period) and U.S. presidentBarack Obama struck a warm tone at the2009 G20 summit in London and released a joint statement that promised a "fresh start" in Russia–United States relations. The statement also called onIran to abandon its nuclear program and to permit foreign inspectors into the country.[81]
In March 2009, U.S. secretary of stateHillary Clinton and her Russian counterpartSergey Lavrov symbolically pressed a "reset" button. The gag fell short as the Russian translation on the button was misspelt by the State Department and actually meant "overload" instead of "reset". After making a few jokes and laughs, they decided to press the button anyway to symbolise friendship.[82]
In early July 2009, Obama visited Moscow where he had meetings with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. Speaking at theNew Economic School Obama told a large gathering, "America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia. This belief is rooted in our respect for the Russian people, and a shared history between our nations that goes beyond competition."[83] Days after president Obama's visit to Moscow, U.S. vice presidentJoe Biden, noting that the U.S. was "vastly underestimat[ing] the hand that [it] h[e]ld", told a U.S. newspaper that Russia, with its population base shrinking and the economy "withering", would have to make accommodations to the West on a wide range of national-security issues.[84]
In March 2010, the United States and Russia reached an agreement to reduce their stockpiles ofnuclear weapons. The new nuclear arms reduction treaty (calledNew START) was signed by President Obama and President Medvedev on April 8, 2010. The agreement cut the number of long-range nuclear weapons held by each side to about 1,500, down from the current 1,700 to 2,200 set by theMoscow Treaty of 2002. The New START replaced the1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired in December 2009.[85]
On a visit to Moscow in March 2011, U.S. vice president Joe Biden reiterated Washington's support for Russia's accession to theWorld Trade Organization;[86] he also had a meeting with Russia's leadinghuman rights and opposition leaders where he reportedly told the gathering at the U.S. ambassador'sSpaso House residence that it would be better for Russia if Putin did not run for re-election in 2012.[87]
Through 2020, this was the only time Biden and Putin had met. After an official group meeting Biden characterized in his memoir as "argumentative," he and Putin met privately, with Biden saying "Mr. Prime Minister, I'm looking into your eyes," (a reference to a 2001 meeting between Putin and President Bush, who later said "I looked the man in the eye...I was able to get a sense of his soul"). Biden continued, "I don't think you have a soul." Putin replied, "We understand each other." Biden was elected president in 2020.[88]
The2011 military intervention in Libya prompted a widespread wave of criticism from several world leaders, including Russian president Medvedev[89] and Russian prime minister Putin, who said that "[UNSC Resolution 1973] is defective and flawed...It allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for crusades."[90]
At the start of themass protests that began in Russia after thelegislative election in early December 2011, prime minister Vladimir Putin accused the United States of interference and inciting unrest, specifically saying that secretary of state Hillary Clinton had sent "a signal" to "some actors in our country"; his comments were seen as indication of a breakdown in the Obama administration's effort to "reset" the relationship.[91]
By 2012, it was clear that a genuine reset never happened and relations remained sour. Factors in the West included traditional mistrust and fear, an increasing drift away from democracy by Russia, and a demand in Eastern Europe for closer political, economic and military integration with the West. From Russia factors included a move away from democracy by Putin, expectations of regaining superpower status and the tactic of manipulating trade policies and encouraging divisions within NATO.[92][93]
In mid-September 2013, the United States and Russia made adeal whereby Syria'schemical weapons would be placed under international control and eventually destroyed; President Obama welcomed the agreement[94] that was shortly after enshrined in theUNSCResolution 2118. The Obama administration was criticised for having used the chemical weapons deal as an ineffectual substitute for military action that Obama had promised in the event ofuse of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.[95] InGeorge Robertson's view, as well as many others', the failure of Obama to follow through on his 2013 "red line" and take promised military action badly hurt his credibility and that of the United States with Putin and other world leaders.[96][97]
Obama acknowledged Russia's role in securing thedeal to limitIran'snuclear program that was reached in July 2015, and personally thanked Putin for Russia's role in therelevant negotiations.[98]
In May 2012, Russian generalNikolay Yegorovich Makarov said that there was a possibility of a preemptive strike onmissile defense sites inEastern Europe, to apply pressure to the United States regarding Russia's demands.[99] Later in August 2012, it was revealed that anAkula-class submarine had conducted a patrol within theGulf of Mexico without being detected, raising alarms of the U.S. Navy'santi-submarine warfare capabilities.[100]
On December 14, 2012, U.S. president Barack Obama signed theMagnitsky Act, which "[imposed] U.S. travel and financial restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia". On December 28, 2012, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed abill, widely seen as retaliatory, that banned any United States citizen from adopting children from Russia.[101]
On February 12, 2013, hours before the2013 State of the Union Address by U.S. president Obama, two RussianTu-95 Bear strategic bombers, reportedly equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, circled theU.S. territory ofGuam.[102] Air ForceF-15 jets based onAndersen Air Force Base were scrambled to intercept the aircraft.[102] The Russian aircraft reportedly "were intercepted and left the area in a northbound direction."[102]
At the end of 2013, Russia announced that a rearmament of theKozelsk, Novosibirsk,Tagil Rocket divisions with advancedRS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles was going ahead.[103]
In July 2014, the U.S. government formally accused Russia of having violated the 1987Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by testing a prohibited medium-range ground-launchedcruise missile (presumably R-500,[104] a modification ofIskander)[105] and threatened to retaliate accordingly.[105][106] Concern in the U.S. was also caused by the test-firing in 2014 of the RussianRS-26 RubezhIntercontinental Ballistic Missile capable of evading the existinganti-ballisticmissile defenses.[107][108]
In early June 2015, theU.S. State Department reported that Russia had failed to correct the violation of the I.N.F. Treaty; the U.S. government was said to have made no discernible headway in making Russia so much as acknowledge the compliance problem.[109]
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Edward Snowden, a contractor for the United States government, copied and released hundreds of thousands of pages of secret U.S. government documents. He fled to Hong Kong, and then to Russia where in July 2013 he was grantedpolitical asylum. He was wanted on a criminal warrant by U.S. prosecutors for theft of government property and espionage.[110]
The granting of asylum further aggravated relations between the two countries and led to the cancellation of a meeting between Obama and Putin that was scheduled for early September 2013 in Moscow.[111] Snowden remains in Russia as of October 2023.
Following thecollapse of theViktor Yanukovych government inUkraine in February 2014, Russia annexedCrimea on the basis of a controversialreferendum held on March 16, 2014. The U.S. had submitted a UN Security Council resolution declaring the referendum illegal; it was vetoed by Russia on March 15 with China abstaining and the other 13 Security Council members voting for the resolution.[112] In 2016, in a court in Moscow, former top Ukrainian officials of the Yanukovich administration testified that the collapse of the government was, in their opinion, acoup d'état organized and sponsored by the U.S. government.[113][114] Russian newspaperKommersant allegesGeorge Friedman (chairman ofStratfor) had agreed this was the "most blatant coup in history', which George Friedman says was taken out of context.[115][116]
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry in early March 2014 answering the press questions about Russia's moves in Crimea said, "This is an act of aggression that is completely trumped up in terms of its pretext. It's really 19th century behavior in the 21st century, and there is no way, to start with, that if Russia persists in this, that the G8 countries are going to assemble in Sochi."[97] On March 24, 2014, the U.S. and its allies in theG8 political forum suspended Russia's membership thereof.[117] The decision was dismissed by Russia as inconsequential.[118][119]
At the end of March 2014, U.S. president Obama ruled out any Western military intervention in Ukraine[118] and admitted that Russia's annexation of Crimea would be hard to reverse; however, he dismissed Russia as a "regional power" that did not pose a major security threat to the U.S.[120] In January 2016, when asked for his opinion of Obama's statement, Putin said, "I think that speculations about other countries, an attempt to speak disrespectfully about other countries is an attempt to prove one'sexceptionalism by contrast. In my view, that is a misguided position."[121][122]
As unrest spread into eastern Ukraine in the spring of 2014, relations between the U.S. and Russia further worsened. The U.S. government imposed punitivesanctions for Russia's activity in Ukraine. After one bout of sanctions announced by President Obama in July 2014 targeting Russia's major energy, financial and defence companies, Russia said the sanctions would seriously harm the bilateral ties relegating them to the 1980sCold War era.[123]
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From March 2014 to 2016, six rounds of sanctions were imposed by the U.S., as well as by the EU, and some other countries allied to the U.S. The first three rounds targeted individuals close to Putin by freezing their assets and denying leave to enter. Russia responded by banning import of certain food products as well as by banning entry for certain government officials from the countries that imposed sanctions against Russia.
The end of 2014 saw the passage by the U.S. of theUkraine Freedom Support Act of 2014,[124][125] aimed at depriving certain Russian state firms of Western financing and technology while also providing $350 million in arms and military equipment to Ukraine, and the imposition by the U.S. president'sexecutive order of yet another round of sanctions.[126]
Due to the situation concerning Ukraine, relations between Russia and the U.S. that denounced Russia's actions were in 2014 said to be at their worst since the end of theCold War.[127]
As vice president, Joe Biden urged the Ukrainian government to reduce the nation's reliance on imports of Russian natural gas, and to eliminate pro-Russia middlemen such asDmitry Firtash from the country's natural gas industry.[128]
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Shortly after the start of theSyrian Civil War in the spring of 2011, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Syria's government and urged PresidentBashar al-Assad to resign; meanwhile, Russia, a long-standing ally of Syria, continued and increased its support for the Syrian government against rebels backed up by the U.S. and its regional allies.
On September 30, 2015, Russia began theair campaign in Syria on the side of the Syrian government headed by PresidentBashar al-Assad ofSyria. According to Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov's statement made in mid-October 2015, Russia had invited the U.S. to join the Baghdad-basedinformation center set up by Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia to coordinate their military efforts, but received what he called an "unconstructive" response; Putin's proposal that the U.S. receive a high-level Russian delegation and that a U.S. delegation arrive in Moscow to discuss co-operation in Syria was likewise declined by the U.S.[129][130]
In early October 2015, U.S. president Obama called the way Russia was conducting its military campaign in Syria a "recipe for disaster";[131] top U.S. military officials ruled out military cooperation with Russia in Syria.[132][133] Secretary of DefenseAshton Carter and other senior U.S. officials said Russia's campaign was primarily aimed at propping up Assad, whom U.S. president Barack Obama had repeatedly called upon to leave power.[134]
Three weeks into the Russian campaign in Syria, on October 20, 2015, Russian president Vladimir Putin met Bashar al-Assad in Moscow to discuss their joint military campaign and a future political settlement in Syria, according to the Kremlin report of the event.[135][136] The meeting provoked a sharp condemnation from the White House.[137]
While one of the original aims of the Russian leadership may have been to normalize relations with the U.S. and the West at large, the resultant situation in Syria was said in October 2015 to be aproxy war between Russia and the U.S.[138][139][140][141][142] The two rounds of theSyria peace talks held in Vienna in October and November 2015, with Iran participating for the first time, highlighted yet again the deep disagreement over the Syrian settlement between the U.S. and Russia, primarily on the issue ofBashar al-Assad's political future.[143] The talks in Vienna were followed by a bilateral meeting of Obama and Putin on the sidelines of theG-20 Summit in Turkey, during which a certain consensus between the two leaders on Syria was reported to have been reached.[144]
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Bilateral negotiations over Syria were unilaterally suspended by the U.S. on October 3, 2016, which was presented as the U.S. government's reaction to a re-newedoffensive on Aleppo by Syrian and Russian troops.[145] On the same day Putin signed a decree[146] that suspended the 2000Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the U.S. (the relevant law was signed on October 31, 2016[147]), citing the failure by the U.S. to comply with the provisions thereof as well as the U.S.' unfriendly actions that posed a "threat tostrategic stability."[148][149]
In mid-October 2016, Russia's U.N. ambassadorVitaly Churkin, referring to the international situation during the1973 Arab–Israeli War, said that tensions with the U.S. are "probably the worst since 1973".[150] After two rounds of fruitless talks on Syria inLausanne and London, the foreign ministers of the U.S. and the UK said that additional sanctions against both Russia and Syria were imminent unless Russia and the "Assad regime" stopped their air campaign in Aleppo.[151][152]
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In mid-November 2016, shortly after the election of Trump as the U.S. president, the Kremlin accused president Barack Obama's administration of trying to damage the U.S.' relationship with Russia to a degree that would render normalization thereof impossible for Trump's incoming administration.[153]
In hisaddress to the Russian parliament delivered on December 1, 2016, Russian president Putin said this of U.S.—Russia relations: "We are prepared to cooperate with the new American administration. It's important to normalize and begin to develop bilateral relations on an equal and mutually beneficial basis. Mutual efforts by Russia and the United States in solving global and regional problems are in the interest of the entire world."[154]
In early December 2016, the White House said that President Obama had ordered the intelligence agencies to review evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign; Eric Schultz, the deputy White House press secretary, denied the review to be led by Director of National IntelligenceJames R. Clapper was meant to be "an effort to challenge the outcome of the election".[155] Simultaneously, the U.S. press published reports, with reference to senior administration officials, that U.S. intelligence agencies, specifically theCIA,[156] had concluded with "high confidence" that Russia acted covertly in the latter stages of the presidential campaign to harm Hillary Clinton's chances and promote Donald Trump.[157] President-elect Donald Trump rejected the CIA assessment that Russia was behind the hackers' efforts to sway the campaign in his favour as "ridiculous".[158][159]
In mid-December 2016, Hillary Clinton suggested that Putin had a personal grudge against her due to her criticism of the2011 Russian legislative election and his opinion that she was responsible for fomenting theanti-Putin protests in Russia that began in December 2011.[160] She partially attributed her loss in the 2016 election to Russian meddling organized by Putin.[161][162] Among her presidential campaign's Russia policy advisors wasRichard Lourie.[163][who?][citation needed]
Also in mid-December, President Obama publicly pledged to retaliate for Russian cyberattacks during the U.S. presidential election in order to "send a clear message to Russia" as both a punishment and a deterrent;[164] however, the press reported that his actionable options were limited, with many of those having been rejected as either ineffective or too risky.The New York Times, citing a catalogue of U.S.-engineered coups in foreign countries, opined, "There is not much new in tampering with elections, except for the technical sophistication of the tools. For all the outrage voiced by Democrats and Republicans in the past week about the Russian action — with the notable exception of Mr. Trump, who has dismissed the intelligence findings as politically motivated — it is worth remembering that trying to manipulate elections is a well-honed American art form."[165]
TheNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 signed into law by President Obama on December 23, 2016, was criticised by the Russian foreign ministry as yet another attempt to "create problems for the incoming Trump administration and complicate its relations on the international stage, as well as to force it to adopt an anti-Russia policy."[166]
At the end of 2016, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump praised Putin for not expelling U.S. diplomats in response to Washington's expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats as well as other punitive measures taken by the Obama administration in retaliation for what U.S. officials had characterized as interference in the U.S. presidential election.[167][168]
On January 6, 2017, theOffice of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), in an assessment of "Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections", asserted that Russian leadership favored presidential candidate Trump over Clinton, and that Putin personally ordered an "influence campaign" to harm Clinton's chances and "undermine public faith in the US democratic process".[169] Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort admitted he was in contact with Russian operatives and sharing information through the campaign.[170]
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A week afterTrump's inauguration on January 20, 2017,Trump had a 52-minute telephone conversation with Russian presidentVladimir Putin that was hailed by both governments as a step towards improvement of relations between the U.S. and Russia; the presidents agreed to arrange a face-to-face meeting for a later date.[171][172]
In early March 2017, the U.S. military for the first time publicly accused Russia of having deployed a land-based cruise missile (SSC-8[173]) that they said violated the "spirit and intent" of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and posed a threat to NATO.[174]
On March 25, 2017, the U.S. imposed new sanctions against eight Russian companies in connection with theIran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA).[citation needed]
Thecruise-missile strikes on the SyrianShayrat Airbase, conducted by the U.S. on April 7, 2017, as a response to theKhan Shaykhun chemical attack,[175][176][177] were condemned by Russia as an "act of aggression" that was based on a "trumped-up pretext", which substantially impaired Russia–United States relations.[178] Russian prime ministerDmitry Medvedev said the attack had placed the U.S. on the cusp of warfare with Russia.[179][180][181] Both Donald Trump in April and the Russian government in May characterised the relationship between the countries as frozen and lacking any progress;[182][183] in early June, Vladimir Putin said relations were at an all-time low since the end of theCold War.[184] In mid-June 2017, the Russian foreign ministry confirmed that, for the first time ever, Russia had failed to receive a formal greeting from the U.S. government on occasion ofRussia's national day celebrated on June 12.[185][186][187][188]
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In April 2017, Trump's administration denied a request fromExxonMobil to allow it to resumeoil drilling in Russia.[189] In July 2017, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging the finding that the company violated sanctions imposed on Russia.[190]
On May 10, 2017, Trump had an unannounced meeting in theOval Office with Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the United StatesSergey Kislyak.[191] During the meeting he disclosed highly classified information, providing details that could have been used to deduce the source of the information and the manner in which it was collected, according to current and former government officials.[192][193] Although the disclosure was not illegal, it was widely criticized because of the possible danger to the source.[194][195]
On July 6, 2017, during a speech inWarsaw, Poland, Trump urged Russia to cease its support for "hostile regimes" inSyria andIran.[196] On July 7, 2017, in what appeared to be a sign of good relations between the leaders of both countries,[197] Trump met with Putin at theG20 Hamburg summit in Germany and described the meeting as "an honour."[198]
In mid-July 2017, the Russian foreign ministry noted that the staff of theU.S. Embassy in Moscow, following expulsion of diplomats by the Obama administration in December 2016, far exceeded the number of Russian embassy employees in Washington and indicated that the Russian government was considering retaliatory expulsion of more than thirty-five U.S. diplomats, thus evening out the number of the countries' diplomats posted.[199] On July 28, Russia announced punitive measures that were cast as Russia's response to theadditional, codified, sanctions against Moscow passed by Congress days prior, but also referenced the specific measures imposed against the Russian diplomatic mission in the U.S. by the Obama administration.[200] Russia demanded that the U.S. reduce its diplomatic and technical personnel in the Moscow embassy and its consulates in St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok to four hundred fifty-five persons — the same as the number of Russian diplomats posted in the U.S. — by September 1; Russia's government would also suspend the use of a retreat compound and a storage facility in Moscow used by the U.S. by August 1.[200][201][202] Two days later, Vladimir Putin said that the decision on the curtailment of the U.S. diplomatic mission personnel had been taken by him personally and that 755 staff must terminate their work in Russia.[203][204][205] After the sanction bill was on August 2 signed by Donald Trump, Russian prime ministerDmitry Medvedev wrote that the law had ended hope for improving U.S.–Russia relations and meant "an all-out trade war with Russia."[206][207] The law was also criticised by Donald Trump, whosesigning statement indicated that he might choose not to enforce certain provisions of the legislation that he deemed unconstitutional.[208][209]
Russia protested on September 2, 2017, against a search it said U.S. officials were planning of a Russian trade mission building in Washington D.C., shortly after the U.S., "in the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians", demanded that Russia shut two of its diplomatic annexes (buildings) in Washington D.C. and New York City as well as itsConsulate General inSan Francisco.[210] The Russian foreign ministry said the inspection would be "illegal" and an "unprecedented aggressive action"; it also demanded that the U.S. ″immediately return the Russian diplomatic facilities″.[211][212]
In November 2017, Trump and Putin both attended theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting inDanang. Although they had no formal meeting they spoke informally several times during the event.[213]
At the end of 2017, CNN concluded that a series of steps undertaken by the first Trump administration within a mere week beforeChristmas such as naming Russia a "rival power" and ″revisionist power″ (along withChina), imposing sanctions onRamzan Kadyrov, a close Putin ally, the decision to provide Ukraine with anti-tank weapons, coupled with tougher line from the State Department about Moscow's activities in eastern Ukraine, and accusations from the Pentagon that Russia was intentionally violating de-confliction agreements in Syria, highlighted "a decided turn away from the warmer, more cooperative relationship with Russia that President Donald Trump called for during his campaign and early in his presidency".[214][215][216] In February 2018, echoing Donald Trump's own statement, White House press secretarySarah Huckabee Sanders said: "[President Donald Trump] has been tougher on Russia in the first year than Obama was in eight years combined."[217][218]
A highly unusual[219] unannounced visit to Washington, D.C., at the end of January 2018 by the directors of Russia'sthree main intelligence and security agencies (FSB,SVR, andGRU), two of whom (Sergey Naryshkin andIgor Korobov) were on the U.S. sanctions list,[220] and their reported meetings with top U.S. security officials caused political controversy in the U.S. and elicited no official comment in Russia, while it occurred days before the first Trump administration chose not to impose immediately new sanctions on Russia at the deadline mandated by theCountering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.[221][222][223][224]
TheU.S. air and artillery strike on a pro-government formation in eastern Syria on February 7, 2018, which caused massive death toll among Russian nationals and a political scandal in Russia, was billed by media as "the first deadly clash between citizens of Russia and the United States since theCold War" and "an episode that threatens to deepen tensions with Moscow".[225][226]
Public statements read out by Vladimir Putin on March 1, 2018, days before thepresidential election, about missile technology breakthroughs made by Russia, were referred to by first Trump administration officials as largely boastful untruths, as well as confirmation that "Russia ha[d] been developing destabilizing weapons systems for over a decade, in direct violation of its treaty obligations".[227] U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis remarked that the systems Putin had talked about "[were] still years away" and he did not see them changing the military balance.[228] Nevertheless, White House insiders were later quoted as saying that Putin's claims "really got under the president [Trump]'s skin" and caused Trump to take a sharper tone behind the scenes vis-à-vis Vladimir Putin.[229]
On March 26, 2018, following theUnited States National Security Council's recommendation,[230] to demonstrate the U.S.'s support for the UK's position on theSalisbury poisoning incident, President Donald Trump ordered the expulsion of sixty Russian diplomats and closure of Russian consulate in Seattle.[231][232] Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov responded to the simultaneous expulsion of the total of 140 Russian diplomats by 25 countries by accusing the U.S. government of "blackmailing" other nations.[233][234]
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In April 2018, U.S.–Russian relations were further exacerbated bymissile strikes against the Syrian government targets following thesuspected chemical attack in Douma on April 7.[235] The countries clashed diplomatically, with Russia's top military officials threatening to hit U.S. military targets in the event of a massive U.S.-led strike against Syria.[236][237][238][239] In late May, during an interview withRT, Syria's presidentBashar al-Assad said that direct military conflict between the Russian forces and the U.S. forces in Syria had been averted in April "by the wisdom of the Russian leadership" and that the U.S.-led missile attack against Syria would have been far more extensive had it not been for Russia's intervention.[240][241]
On June 8, 2018, Trump called for Russia to be readmitted to theG-7, from which it was expelled after theRussian annexation of Crimea in 2014.[242]
Trump's public statements during hisfirst formal meeting with Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018, drew criticism from the Democratic members of the U.S. Congress and a number of former senior intelligence officials as well as some ranking members of the Republican party for appearing to have sided with Putin rather than accepting the findings of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election issued by theUnited States Intelligence Community.[243][244][245] Republican senatorJohn McCain called the press conference "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."[246] The press around the world ran publications that tended to assess the news conference following the presidents′ two-hour meeting as an event at which Trump had "projected weakness".[247]
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In December 2019, the first Trump administration imposed sanctions on businesses involved in the construction ofNord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia toGermany,[248] as the U.S. sought to sell more of its ownliquefied natural gas (LNG) to European states.[249] German Finance MinisterOlaf Scholz called the sanctions "a severe intervention in German and European internal affairs", while the EU spokesman criticized "the imposition of sanctions against EU companies conducting legitimate business."[250] Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov also criticized sanctions, saying thatU.S. Congress "is literally overwhelmed with the desire to do everything to destroy" the U.S.–Russia relations.[251]
A June 2020New York Times report, citing unnamed sources, stated that American intelligence officials assessed with medium confidence that Russian military intelligence unit29155 hadsupervised a bounty program payingTaliban-linked militants to kill foreign servicemembers, including Americans, in Afghanistan in 2019.[252][253] The bounty program reportedly resulted in the deaths of "several" U.S. soldiers.[254]The Pentagon's top leaders said that the Russian bounty program could not be corroborated.[255] The Taliban and Russia have both denied that the bounty program exists.[254] PresidentDonald Trump and his aides denied that he was briefed on the intelligence. Director of National IntelligenceJohn Ratcliffe said that Trump had not received a briefing on the bounty program. White House press secretaryKayleigh McEnany said the same.[254] Secretary of DefenseMark Esper said that GeneralKenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, and GeneralScott Miller, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, did not think "the reports were credible as they dug into them."[255] McKenzie said that he found no "causative link" between reported bounties to actual U.S. military deaths, but said a lack of proof is "often true in battlefield intelligence."[255]
On July 1, 2020, following media reports of Taliban participation in an alleged Russian bounty program, the U.S.House Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly voted in favor of an amendment to restrict President Trump's ability to withdraw U.S. troops fromAfghanistan.[256]
On September 25, 2020,U.S. Air ForceB-52 bombers staged a mock attack run onKaliningrad, a Russian exclave locked between NATO countries. The simulated raid on theKaliningrad region was a test case of destroying Russian air defense systems located in the region.[257]
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Shortly before the inauguration of President Trump, theSteele dossier was leaked to the public. Written by aprivate intelligence firm claiming to unearth a relationship between hispresidential campaign and the Russian government, the report alleged that the Russians possessedkompromat on Trump which could be used toblackmail him. It suggested the Kremlin had promised the campaign that compromising information would not be released if the Administration cooperated.[258][259] Though the report was met with skepticism, the relationship between Russian leadership and the incoming first Trump Administration became highly salient. Days later,Ynet, an Israeli online news site, reported that U.S. intelligence had advisedIsraeli intelligence officers to be cautious about sharing information with theincoming first Trump administration until the possibility of Russian influence over Trump had been fully investigated.[260] Allegations of collusion between Trump associations and the Russian government continued to emerge well into his presidency.
Variouslinks between Trump associates and Russian officials have been documented and heavily scrutinized, most notably former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn'scontacts with the Russian ambassador. Throughout his presidential tenure, Trump expressed both support and criticism of Russia's actions in Crimea,[261] Syria,[262] Ukraine,[263] North Korea,[264] Venezuela,[265] election meddling,[266] Skripal poisoning,[267] and oil drilling in Russia.[268]
Despite extensive investigation into the dossier's claims, they remainunverified, and many consider the allegations to be aconspiracy theory.[269][270][271][272][273][274][275] Trump's actions at theHelsinki summit in 2018 led some to conclude that Steele's report was more accurate than not.Politico reported, "Trump sided with the Russians over the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Moscow had waged an all-out attack on the 2016 election...The joint news conference cemented fears among some that Trump was in Putin's pocket and prompted bipartisan backlash."[276] At the joint news conference, when asked directly about the subject, Putin denied that he had any kompromat on Trump. Trump was reportedly given a gift from Putin the weekend of the pageant, though Putin argued "that he did not even know Trump was in Russia for theMiss Universe pageant in 2013 when, according to the Steele dossier, video of Trump was secretly recorded to blackmail him."[277]
In reaction to Trump's actions at the summit, SenatorChuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke in the Senate:
Millions of Americans will continue to wonder if the only possible explanation for this dangerous and inexplicable behavior is the possibility — the very real possibility — that President Putin holds damaging information over President Trump.[278]
Several operatives and lawyers in the U.S. intelligence community reacted strongly to Trump's performance at the summit, describing it as "subservien[ce] to Putin" and "a fervent defense of Russia's military and cyber aggression around the world, and its violation of international law in Ukraine". Some framed Trump's conduct as harmful to U.S. interests and an asset to Russian interests, suggesting that he was a "useful idiot" to Putin,[280] and that he looked like "Putin's puppet".[281] FormerDirector of National IntelligenceJames Clapper wondered "if Russians have something on Trump",[282] and former CIA directorJohn O. Brennan accused Trump of treason, tweeting: "He is wholly in the pocket of Putin."[283] In January 2019, former acting CIA directorMichael Morell called Trump "an unwitting agent of the Russian federation", echoing the sentiments of former CIA directorMichael V. Hayden.[284] House SpeakerNancy Pelosi suggested then-president Trump's behavior was part of a pattern: "All roads lead to Putin."[285]
Following the arrest of Russian opposition leaderAlexei Navalny on January 17, 2021,Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, stated: "Mr. Navalny should be immediately released, and the perpetrators of the outrageous attack on his life must be held accountable. The Kremlin's attacks on Mr. Navalny are not just a violation of human rights, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voices heard."[286]
On the day of Biden's inauguration, Russia urged the new administration to take a "more constructive" approach in talks over the extension of the2010 New START treaty, accusing the first Trump administration of "deliberately and intentionally" dismantling international arms control agreements and attacking its "counterproductive and openly aggressive" approach in talks.[287] On January 26, Biden and Putin agreed that they would extend by five years the New START treaty, which would otherwise have expired in February 2021.[288]
On March 17, 2021, the Russian foreign ministry announced that Russia had recalledits ambassador to the U.S.,Anatoly Antonov, for "consultations" in a move that was characterized by the ministry's spokesperson as being without precedent for a Russia ambassador to the U.S.[289] The recall came after Biden said he thought that Putin was "a killer" and said he would "pay the price" for theinterference in the 2020 U.S. election, which had been confirmed by a declassifiedDNIreport released the previous day.[290] The State Department commented on the recall by saying that while the U.S. would work with Russia to advance U.S. interests, they would "be able to hold Russia accountable for any of their malign actions".[291]
On April 15, the U.S. announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions on six Russian technology companies as well as 32 other individuals and entities. The new sanctions also targetedruble-denominated sovereign debt. Nevertheless, the economic punishments were assessed by observers as "more bark than bite" and likely to be "largely symbolic", with the ruble even rebounding against the dollar on the news. Biden commented the United States "could have gone further" with the sanctions, but that he had opted for a milder form of sovereign-debt sanctions for now because he wanted to avoid a "cycle of escalation and conflict."[292] Russia retaliated the following day, expelling 10 U.S. diplomats and suggesting theU.S. ambassador return home for consultations.[293]
On May 19, theBiden administration lifted sanctions on theNord Stream 2 gas pipeline that was being built between Russia andGermany. While President Biden believed the project was bad, the U.S. State Department explained it had concluded that it was in the "U.S. national interest" to waive the sanctions.[294]
In May 2021, Biden and Putin agreed to meet as the relationship between the countries was being assessed to be at the lowest point since the 1980s.[295] At themeeting in Geneva in mid-June, the countries′ leaders reached an agreement to return their ambassadors to their posts in each other's capitals, no progress was made in overcoming the major points of contention.[296]
On August 21, the Department of State imposed increased sanctions on Russia for alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny. These sanctions include a ban on ammunition imports into the United States, as well as restrictions ofsmall arm sales.[297]
On December 1, 2021, Russia'sForeign Ministry told U.S. diplomats who have been working in Moscow for more than three years, to leave the country by January 31, 2022.[298] The move came in response to news on November 28, 2021, that the US would be expelling 27 Russian diplomatic staff by the end of January 2022.[299]
On February 21, 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin suspended the New START agreement.[300]
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In late 2021 and early 2022, Russian troops build up along the Russo-Ukrainian border, resulted in renewed tensions between Russia and NATO. Senior officials of theBiden administration reported that Russia had only withdrawn a few thousand troops since the previous military buildup in early 2021.The New York Times estimated over 80,000 Russian troops still remain at the Russo-Ukrainian border by September 2021.[301] The Kremlin repeatedly denied that it had any plans to invade Ukraine.[302][303]
On November 30, 2021, Putin stated that anexpansion of NATO's presence in Ukraine, especially the deployment of anylong-range missiles capable of striking Russian cities ormissile defence systems similar to those in Romania and Poland, would be a "red line" issue for the Kremlin.[304][305][306] Putin asked PresidentJoe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO wouldn't expand eastward or put "weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory."[307] The U.S. rejected Putin's demands.[308][309]
Biden and Putin discussed the crisis over the course of a 50-minute phone call on December 30, 2021.[310] Bilateral talks began inGeneva on January 10, 2022, to discuss theRusso-Ukrainian war as well as longstanding Russian concerns regarding NATO postering in Eastern Europe.[311] The talks were led by Russian Deputy Foreign MinisterSergei Ryabkov and U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateWendy Sherman.[312] On January 31, 2022, both the United States and Russia discussed the crisis at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.[313] The discussion was tense, with both sides accusing the other of stoking tensions.
The United States government increased military support to Ukraine through a $650 million arms deal.[314] U.S. Secretary of DefenseLloyd Austin andChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffMark Milley threatened U.S. support for an anti-Russian insurgency within Ukraine.[315] The Biden administration approved deliveries of American-madeFIM-92 Stingersurface-to-air missiles to Ukraine.[316] The government threatened severe sanctions against Russia as well as personal sanctions against Putin and his allies.[317] The United States also threatened to halt the opening of theNord Stream 2 pipeline that would send Russiannatural gas to Germany, "if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another."[318]
In January 2022, the United States accused Russia of sendingsaboteurs into Ukraine to stage "a false-flag operation" that would create a pretext for Russia to invade Ukraine. Russian foreign ministerSergey Lavrov dismissed the U.S. claim as "total disinformation."[303] On February 4, 2022, Lavrov dismissed as "nonsense" and "craziness" allegations by the United States that Russia was preparing a fake video of the Ukrainian forces attacking the separatist-heldDonbas as a pretext for starting a war in Ukraine.[319]
On January 19, 2022, President Biden said that he believed Russia would invade Ukraine.[320] Biden said a full-scale invasion of Ukraine would be "the most consequential thing that's happened in the world in terms of war and peace" sinceWorld War II.[321] Biden and Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy disagreed on how imminent the threat was.[322][323] On February 10, 2022, Biden urged all American citizens in Ukraine to leave immediately.[324] On February 11, 2022, Biden's national security advisorJake Sullivan publicly warned about the likelihood of a Russian invasion of Ukraine prior to the end of the2022 Winter Olympics.[325]
TheChicago Council on Global Affairs poll, conducted on July 26, 2021, found that 50% of Americans supported the use ofU.S. troops to defend Ukraine if Russia invaded the rest of the country.[326]
In December 2021, aLevada Center poll found that about 50% of Russians believed that the U.S. and NATO were responsible for the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, while 16% blamed Ukraine and just 4% blamed Russia.[327][328]
In February 2022, according to the White House, U.S. president Joe Biden stated in a video conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin that if Russia invades Ukraine, Washington and its allies will respond "decisively and impose fast and severe penalties."[329]
On February 16, 2022, the U.S. State Department stated that Russia is seeking to establish a "pretext" for invading Ukraine by making unsubstantiated claims of "genocide" and mass graves in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.[331]
On February 20, 2022, the US secretary of state showed his concern about the continuation of Russian military drills in Belarus. According to Antony Blinken, Moscow's decision to keep roughly 30,000 troops in Belarus, near to Ukraine, amid increased tensions in the east justifies US's concerns.[332]
On February 22, 2022, U.S. president Joe Biden criticized Russia'srecognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic as "the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine" and announced sanctions against on banks VEB andPromsvyazbank and comprehensive sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt in response.[333]
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On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine opening fire with explosive ordinance and hitting several residential buildings, by the 25th the invading army had taken all of the Chernobyl exclusion zone and began to attack the Ukrainian capital with high resistance from both the Ukrainian military and a makeshift militia. On February 26, President Joe Biden authorized the US State Department to deliver up to $350 million in weapons from US stockpiles to Ukraine.[334]
President Joe Biden rejected the idea of a NATO-enforcedno-fly zone over Ukraine, in order to avoid a direct war with Russia.[335]
On February 26, 2022, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, warned that Moscow may retaliate to international sanctions by withdrawing from the most recent nuclear arms treaty with the US, severing diplomatic ties with Western nations, and freezing their assets.[336]
On February 28, 2022, the U.S., during a meeting with the U.N., asked the Russian ambassador,Vasily Nebenzya, to remove 12 Russian diplomats from the U.S. under claims of abuse of power.
On March 4, 2022, the United States and its allies strongly denounced Russia at the United Nations on Friday for shelling and seizing Europe's largest nuclear power facility overnight in Ukraine, and some insisted that Moscow not allow such an action to happen again.[337]
On March 13, 2022, President Biden's National Security AdviserJake Sullivan warned of a full-fledgedNATO response if Russia were to hit any part of NATO territory.[338]
The poll, conducted byNPR/Ipsos between March 18 and 21, 2022, found that only 36% of Americans approved theBiden administration's response to the invasion.[340]
On April 28, 2022, President Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to assist Ukraine, including $20 billion to provideweapons to Ukraine.[341]
On July 6, 2022, the speaker of theRussian Parliament threatened the US about the possible "return" ofAlaska toRussia.[342]
On September 21, 2022, President Putin warned the US and NATO during hispartial mobilization speech regarding Russia's ability to use nuclear weapons, stating that if Russia's "territorial integrity" was threatened, Russia would "certainly make use of all weapon systems available" to them.[343]
On September 27, 2022, White House press secretaryKarine Jean-Pierre encouraged Russian men fleeing their home country to avoid being drafted to apply forasylum in the United States.[344] In early 2023, the Biden administration resumed deportations ofRussians who had fled Russia due to mobilization and political persecution. Texas-based attorney Jennifer Scarborough said that "In March of 2022, the US said they were stopping deportations to Russia because of the political situation – so I don't understand why they restarted it and they did it so quietly."[345]
On January 25, 2023, the Biden administration decided to supply 31M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.[346]
In February 2023, theUnited States stepped up efforts to pressure the countries, includingTurkey and theUnited Arab Emirates, to stop the commercial activities that had been benefiting Russia and helping them to evade international sanctions. Turkey, aNATO member, and the United Arab Emirates, a close ally of the US, agreed to Western pressure and imposed sanctions on Russia.[347]
AGallup poll conducted in June 2023 found that 62% of respondents in the United States wanted tosupport Ukraine in regaining territory that Russia had captured, even if it meant prolonging the war between Russia and Ukraine, while 32% wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, even if it meant allowing Russia to keep the territory it captured andannexed in southeastern Ukraine.[348] According to a 2023 CNN poll, 55% of American respondents said the US Congress should not approve additional funding to support Ukraine, while 45% would support additional funding.[349]
In 2022, Congress approved more than $112 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. At the end of 2023, the White House requested $61.4 billion more for Ukraine for the year ahead.[350]
In January 2024, the Biden administration rejected Vladimir Putin's proposal for aceasefire in Ukraine. Biden's national security advisorJake Sullivan informed Putin's foreign policy adviserYuri Ushakov that the United States would not discuss a ceasefire without Ukraine's participation.[351][352]
On April 13, 2024, theLondon Metal Exchange set out measures following US and UK imposed sanctions that banned delivery of new Russian metal including aluminum, copper and nickel. Aim of this decision is to agitate Russian export revenue as Moscow continues it war against Ukraine.[353]
On May 30, 2024, Biden gave Ukraine permission tostrike targets inside Russia near theKharkiv region using American-supplied weapons. The Russians were then exploiting the artificial limitation to focus attacks on the city, which lies 60 km from the frontier.[354] A little later he sat withDavid Muir during the D-Day memorial in Normandy France and said "They are authorized to be used in proximity to the border. We are not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia. We are not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin."[355] On August 9, 2024, a convoy of Russian troops in theKursk Oblast of Russia was destroyed in a strike by U.S.-suppliedHIMARS rocket system in what the Russian Telegram channel called "one of the bloodiest and most massive strikes in the entire war."[356][357]
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In June 2024, the U.S. sanctioned multipleHong Kong firms, for facilitating trade in gold produced by Russia'sPolyus. As per the Treasury Department, several Hong Kong and theUAE-based were used to convert payments from sale of Russian gold into fiat currency and cryptocurrency. Hong Kong's Holden International Trading Limited and Taube Precious HK Limited were used to route payments, while the UAE-based Red Coast Metals Trading DMCC to obscure payments from Russian gold sale. Besides, Hong Kong-based VPower Finance Security was transporting the Russian gold.[358]
On July 28, 2024, Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened to deploylong-range missiles that could hit all of Europe after the United States announced its intention to deploy long-range missiles inGermany starting in 2026 that could hit Russian territory within 10 minutes.[359]
On August 1, 2024, the United States and Russia conducted the most extensiveprisoner exchange since the end of theCold War,[360] involving the release of twenty-six people.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thepersecution of Russian citizens who disagree with the policies of Russian leader Vladimir Putin has increased significantly. For example, in early 2024, ballet dancerKsenia Karelina, a dual American-Russian citizen and resident of Los Angeles, was arrested while visiting family in Russia and charged with treason for sending $51.80 toRazom, aNew York City-based nonprofit organization that sends humanitarian assistance toUkraine.[361] She initially faced life in prison, but pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.[362]
Russia has yet to observe any meaningful progress on nuclear disarmament from the new U.S. administration, as stated by Gennady Gatilov on February 9, 2025, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. While expressing readiness for collaboration, Gatilov highlighted the lack of advancement innuclear arms control discussions, with the New START Treaty set to expire in 2026.[363]
Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin by telephone on February 12, 2025, in what was their first known contact since Trump had beeninaugurated for his second term as U.S. president.[364] They discussed a range of topics, including opening negotiations to end the war and arranging asummit meeting. Trump announced afterwards that peace talks would begin "immediately" and thatU.S. Secretary of StateMarco Rubio,U.S. National Security AdvisorMike Waltz,CIA DirectorJohn Ratcliffe, and Special EnvoySteve Witkoff will lead the negotiations.[364][365] Trump also announced that he could meet with Putin inSaudi Arabia, and thatSaudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman could have a role in the talks, but no decision had been made at that time.[364]
On February 15, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to Marco Rubio by telephone about a number of topics, including the Russo-Ukrainian War, arranging a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia, and potential cooperation on thesituation in the Middle East. The conversation, which was the first contact between Russia and the U.S. at the foreign minister level in almost two years, was also seen as a sign that the two countries were restoring regular contact between their governments.[366]
Kremlin Press SecretaryDmitry Peskov said on February 17 that the Riyadh talks will be about "restoring the entire range of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents."Tammy Bruce, theU.S. State Department Spokesperson, stated on the same day that the talks were to see if a potential war settlement was possible, in which case more detailed negotiations could move forward.[367] Sergey Lavrov ruled out the participation of theEuropean Union countries. He also said, speaking of the earlier phone call between Putin and Trump, that the two presidents "agreed to leave behind that absolutely abnormal period in relations between our great powers when they effectively halted any contacts except for some technical and humanitarian issues."[367] Shortly before the talks,Kirill Dmitriev, the head ofRussia's sovereign wealth fund, met with the U.S. delegation to discuss the economic relationship between their countries.[368]
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TheRiyadh meeting was held on February 18, with Rubio, Waltz, and Witkoff on the American side, and Lavrov and Presidential AideYuri Ushakov on the Russian side. Saudi Arabian foreign ministerFaisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security AdviserMusaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban were also there. The delegations agreed to begin thenegotiation process for ending the war in Ukraine (though the Ukrainians were not invited to the talks), to establish a high-level mechanism for contact between the U.S. and Russian governments, and to work to eventually normalize their economic and diplomatic ties.[369][370] This will include restoring the staff of both of their embassies to normal levels, after the expulsions of diplomats in previous years.[371] Lavrov said after the talks: "We weren't just listening to each other, but we heard each other. I have reason to believe that the American side started to better understand our positions."[372]
Yuri Ushakov, the Russian presidential advisor on foreign policy, said after the Riyadh meeting that preparations for a Trump-Putin summit have begun, though no date had been decided yet.[369][373] According to Kirill Dmitriev, they also discussed the possibility of restoring joint energy exploration projects in the Arctic, whereExxonMobil previously had a partnership withRosneft before leaving due to economic sanctions in 2018.[374] The U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh, their most extensive negotiation in three years,[372] have been described as representing an "extraordinary turnaround"[375] and a "head-spinning reset" in the relations between the two countries.[372] Speaking at a press conference on the same day, Trump said that he will "probably" meet Putin later in February.[376] Rubio said a potential meeting between Trump and Putin would "largely depend on whether we can make progress on ending the war in Ukraine."[377]
Trump said on February 21 that Russia attacked Ukraine, but blamed Biden for failing to prevent it and Zelensky for abandoning peace talks.[378] He also said that Zelenskyy and Putin should negotiate an end to the war to prevent furtherkillings of young soldiers and the deaths of "millions" of people.[377]
On February 24, the US voted against aUN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[379] Alongside this resolution, the USintroduced a separate resolution in the General Assembly which was worded in neutral terms. However, this resolution was significantly changed after several amendments, and Russia voted against it.[380] The US later re-introduced that resolution in the Security Council,which ultimately approved it.[381]
On February 27, Trump extended a series ofsanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine for one year.[382]
On March 4, the media reported that the United States had suspended all military aid to Ukraine.[383] Director of the CIAJohn Ratcliffe confirmed this, along with the suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine.[384] Aid and intelligence sharing was resumed on March 11 following talks with Ukrainian officials inJeddah, Saudi Arabia.[385]
In June 2025, a majority ofU.S. senators supportedsecondary sanctions against Russia that would impose 500%tariffs on countries that buyRussian oil,natural gas,uranium and other exports. Majority LeaderJohn Thune said senators "stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way."[386]
In June 2025, Trump rejected Putin's offer to mediate a ceasefire in theIran–Israel war,[387] telling him to focus on mediating a ceasefire in the Russo-Ukrainian War.[388] On June 22, 2025, Putin condemned Trump'sstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites as an "unprovoked act of aggression".[389]
Asummit meeting took place on August 15, 2025, in the U.S.state of Alaska, between President of the United States Donald Trump and President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The meeting, announced by Trump on August 8, 2025, focused on negotiations toward a ceasefire and potential peace agreement in the ongoingRusso–Ukrainian War. Trump suggested that the talks could include proposals involving territorial adjustments, an idea publicly rejected by Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, who insisted that no settlement can occur without Ukraine's participation or territorial concessions.[390][391] This was the first high-level bilateral meeting between the two countries on U.S. soil since the1988 Governors Island Summit. Alaska was selected in part due to its historical ties to Russia and because it lies outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin.[392] The summit sparked controversy over its agenda, format, and symbolism. Central to the dispute was President Trump's suggestion of potential territorial "swaps" as part of aUkraine peace deal.[392]
In late August 2025, as U.S.-Russia relations showed signs of renewed engagement, both leaders expressed interest in expanded economic cooperation. Concurrently,ExxonMobil and Russia's state-ownedRosneft had secretly outlined a roadmap for resuming joint operations at theSakhalin-1 oil and gas project, contingent on government approvals and progress in Ukraine peace negotiations. Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman led the discussions with Rosneft CEOIgor Sechin, while Exxon also sought support from the U.S. government for its potential return. According to officials, the company received a favorable response, and CEODarren Woods held recent talks with President Trump at the White House regarding the matter.[393]
On October 22, 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft andLukoil,[394] affecting their customers inChina andIndia.[395]
The Soviet Union's systemic espionage efforts in the U.S. began in the 1920s.[396]
In April 2015, CNN reported that "Russian hackers" had "penetrated sensitive parts of the White House" computers in "recent months." It was said that the FBI, the Secret Service, and other U.S. intelligence agencies categorized the attacks "among the most sophisticated attacks ever launched against U.S. government systems."[397]
In 2017, a cybersecurity specialist working in theFederal Security Service was arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of passing information to U.S. intelligence.[398]
In June 2019, Russia said that itselectrical grid had come under cyber-attack by the United States. TheNew York Times reported that American hackers from theUnited States Cyber Command planted malware potentially capable of disrupting the Russian electrical grid.[399]
US intelligence identified a fake video, allegedly produced by Russian operatives, showing individuals falsely claiming to commit voter fraud in Georgia. Aimed at creating distrust in US elections, the video prompted Georgia's election chief to request its removal from social media platforms.[400]
A poll by theUniversity of Maryland, College Park, released early July 2009 found that only 2 percent of Russians had "a lot of confidence" that U.S. presidentBarack Obama would do the right thing in world affairs.[401] Russian media criticized the United States for pursuing ananti-missile system in Europe, for favoringNATO expansion and for supportingGeorgia in its armed conflict with Russia in 2008.[402]
Prior to 2014, the Russian press expressed varying opinions of Russia–United States relations.[404] Russian media treatment of America ranged from doctrinaire[405] and nationalistic[406] to very positive toward the United States and the West.[407][408][409][410] In 2013, 51 percent of Russians had a favorable view of the U.S., down from 57 percent in 2010.[411]
The opinion polls taken by the independentLevada Center in January 2015,[412] showed 81 percent of Russians tended to hold negative views of the U.S., a number that had nearly doubled over the previous 12 months and that was by far the highest negative rating since the center started tracking those views in 1988, as well as surpassing any time since theStalin era, according to observers.[413] This contrasts with only 7 percent of Russians in April 1990 who said they had bad or somewhat bad attitudes towards the U.S.[414] Likewise, the figures published byGallup in February 2015 showed a significant rise in anti-Russian sentiment in the U.S.: the proportion of Americans who considered Russia as a "critical military threat" had over the 12 months increased from 32 to 49 percent, and, for the first time in many years, Russia topped the list of America's perceived external enemies, ahead of North Korea, China and Iran, with 18 percent of U.S. residents putting Russia at the top of the list of the "United States' greatest enemy today".[415] Public opinion polls taken by thePew Research Center showed that favorable U.S. public opinion of Russia was at 22 percent in 2015. The most negative view of Russia was at 19 percent in 2014, and the most positive view at 49 percent in 2010 and 2011.[416] The most negative view of the United States was at 15 percent in 2015, while the most positive view was at 61 percent in 2002.[417]
US public opinion regarding Russia has changed substantially over the past 25 years. A Gallup poll from 1992 to 2017 shows 62% of American respondents having a favorable view of Russia in 1992, and 29% having an unfavorable view. In 2017, 70% of American respondents had an unfavorable view of Russia, and 28% had a favorable view.[418] A February 2023 Gallup poll found that 9% of Americans have a favorable view of Russia, and 51% view the military power of Russia as a critical threat, though this is down significantly from 59% a year prior.[419] A poll conducted byYouGov in 2015 found that only 11% of Americans believed that the Soviet Union contributed most to thedefeat of Nazi Germany inWorld War II.[420]
A 2017 survey conducted by thePew Research Center showed 41% of Russians had a positive view of the US, only one of two countries surveyed where positive perception for the US increased; 52% expressed a negative view.[421] The same study also showed 53% of Russians had confidence in the U.S. presidentDonald Trump, compared to just 11% for former presidentBarack Obama.[422]
There has also been a change in whether Americans view Russia as an ally or a threat. In 1992, 44% of American respondents saw Russia to be friendly but not an ally, and 5% see them as a threat. In 2014, the Gallup poll reports that 21% of Americans see Russia as friendly but not an ally, and 24% of American respondents seeing them as a threat.[418] This difference in how Americans view Russia has been attributed to the increasing lack of cooperation in the scientific field between the US and Russia, by some.[423] Another perspective is the shift from ally to threat is due to the US being critical of Russia's aggression, especially with their aggression towards geographic neighbors,[424] the United States being one of those neighbors, as it shares a common sea border with the Russian Federation and the USState of Alaska.
The 2016 surveys independently conducted by theChicago Council and Russia'sLevada Center showed that mutual perceptions between Russians and Americans were at levels not seen since the Cold War, indicating considerable mutual distrust.[425]
U.S.–Russian relations have further deteriorated since 2016.[426] A December 2017 survey conducted by the Chicago Council and its Russian partner, the Levada Center, showed that:
Seventy-eight percent of Russians polled said the United States meddles "a great deal" or "a fair amount" in Russian politics, compared to 69 percent of Americans who say the same about Russian interference in U.S. politics. ... The poll found that 31 percent of Russians said Moscow tried to influence U.S. domestic affairs in a significant way, compared to 55 percent of Americans who felt that their own government tried to do the same thing in Russia. ... Only 31 percent of Americans say they hold a positive view of Russia, and 24 percent of Russians say the same of the United States. ... Eighty-one percent of Russians said they felt the United States was working to undermine Russia on the world stage; 77 percent of Americans said the same of Russia.[427]
A Levada poll released in August 2018 found that 68% of Russian respondents believe that Russia needs to dramatically improve relations with the United States and other Western countries.[428] According toThe Moscow Times, "Russians increasingly view the United States in a positive light following a presidential"summit in Helsinki in July 2018. "For the first time since 2014, the number of Russians who said they had "positive" feelings towards the United States (42 percent) outweighed those who reported "negative" feelings (40 percent)."[429]
The 2019 poll independently conducted by the Chicago Council and Levada Center found that 85% of Russians and 78% of Americans say the United States and Russia are "more rivals than partners."[430] The president of theCenter for Citizen Initiatives,Sharon Tennison, stated in 2019, "In my 35 years of traveling throughout Russia, I've never before witnessed such a vast gap between what average Americans 'believe' about Russia and Russia's reality on ground today."[430]
A Levada poll released in February 2020 found that 80% of Russian respondents believe that Russia and the West should become friends and partners.[431] However, only 42% of Russians polled said they had a positive view of the United States.[431] Only 18% of Americans polled byPew Research Center said they had a positive view of Russia.[432] According to thePew Research Center, "57% of Russians ages 18 to 29 see the U.S. favorably, compared with only 15% of Russians ages 50 and older."[433] In 2019, only 20% of Russians viewed U.S. presidentDonald Trump positively.[434] Only 14% of Russians expressed net approval ofDonald Trump's foreign policies and actions.[435] A 2024 Gallup poll shows that twenty-six percent of Americans consider Russia to be the United States' greatest enemy today, ranking it as the second-largest known enemy of the United States after China.[436]
The timeline covers key events, 1991 to present.[447][448]
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The Planetary Society is known to have collaborated with Russia, especiallyCosmos 1 and LIFE.
In 2014, NASA renewed a contract to ferry U.S. astronauts to theInternational Space Station onSoyuz rockets andspacecraft. Including additional support at the Russian launch site, this contract is costing the United States $457.9 million. Along with the renewal, NASA also announced that they would be cutting some contacts with Russia after theannexation of Crimea.[485]
In June 2021,NASA administratorBill Nelson told CNN Business' Rachel Crane about the future of U.S.–Russian cooperation in theInternational Space Station (ISS): "For decades, upwards now of 45 plus years [we've cooperated with] Russians in space, and I want that cooperation to continue. Your politics can be hitting heads on Earth, while you are cooperating" in space.[486]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2019) |
In 1995, aBlack Brant sounding rocket launched from theAndøya Space Center caused a high alert in Russia, known as theNorwegian rocket incident.[487] The Russians thought it might be anuclear missile launched from an American submarine. The incident occurred in the post-Cold War era, where many Russians were still very suspicious of the United States andNATO.[488][489] The Norwegian rocket incident was the first and thus far only known incident where anynuclear-weapons state had its nuclear briefcase activated and prepared for launching an attack.[490]
PresidentDonald Trump announced on October 20, 2018, that the U.S. would no longer consider itself bound by the 1987INF Treaty's provisions, raising nuclear tensions between the two powers.[491][492][493] Two days later, Russian military analystPavel Felgenhauer told Deutsche Welle that thenew Cold War would make this treaty and other Cold War-era treaties "irrelevant because they correspond to a totally different world situation."[494] In early 2019, more than 90% of world's 13,865nuclear weapons were owned by Russia and the United States.[495]
President Putin oversaw Russia's large-scale nuclear war exercises on October 17, 2019, where the Russian army integrated land, sea and air components of the nation's nuclear triad, nearly one year after Trump announced that the US was pulling-out of the nuclear treaty it had signed with Russia.[496]
According to a peer-reviewed study published in the journalNature Food in August 2022,[497] a full-scale nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia, which together hold more than 90% of the world'snuclear weapons, would kill 360 million people directly and more than 5 billion indirectly from starvation during anuclear winter.[498][499]
After the U.S. president announced plans to resume nuclear testing in October 2025, the Russian government responded cautiously. The Kremlin stated that Russia had not conducted any nuclear tests and had not yet decided to do so. The Russian Defense Minister also indicated that if other countries resumed nuclear testing, Russia would take similar measures. These statements reflect the context of bilateral relations and nuclear competition between the two countries, highlighting the emphasis both sides place on reciprocal actions in nuclear deterrence.[500][501]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(November 2012) |
The U.S. Congress repealed theJackson–Vanik amendment on November 16, 2012.[502]
"Last year [2015] was not particularly favorable for trade between Russia and the U.S. Our overall 2015 turnover was $21 billion, a decline of 27.9 percent," said a senior Russian official in April 2016.[503]
Reuters reported thatU.S. companies "generated more than $90 billion in revenue from Russia in 2017."[504] According to the AALEP, "there are almost 3,000 American companies in Russia, and the U.S. is also the leader in terms of foreign companies inSpecial Economic Zones, with 11 projects."[505]
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with Russia was $11.2 billion in 2022.[506]
On July 28, 2025, former Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev warned that U.S. President Trump's ultimatum, threatening tariffs and sanctions if Russia didn't agree to a ceasefire within 10–12 days, could trigger a wider war.[507]
The following chart shows dollar figures from the US Census Bureau'sTrade in Goods with Russia page:
One major import isenriched uranium. As of 2023, 24% of enriched uranium in the US is imported from Russia.[508]
Another major import isgasoline, of which Russia the top provider in 2021.[509] During the period 2003-2023 (inclusive), the low-point was December 2003.[510]
In 2023, theCongressional Research Service reported that the US was the third largest source of goods imports to Russia in 2021.[511]
In March 2022, following theRussian invasion of Ukraine, exports from the US to Russia fell dramatically.[512]
Following the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States and Russia signed a bilateral treaty called the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II), signed by George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin.
The United States and Russia have conducted joint military maneuvers, training andcounter-terrorist exercises inGermany. This was done in hopes to strengthen relations with the United States and Russia.[513] The Russian president also proposed that the United States and Russia put a jointmissile defense system inAzerbaijan, a proposal being considered by the United States.[514] In 2008, in response to tensions overGeorgia, the United States had cancelled its most recent jointNATO-Russia military exercises.[citation needed]
As of August 2013, the U.S. and Russia continue to hold jointmilitary exercises like Northern Eagle (held since 2004, together withNorway)[515] and Vigilant/Watchful Eagle (withCanada)[citation needed]among others, with the aim of improving joint cooperation againstterrorism andpiracy.
Russia-U.S. relations are significantly influenced by the United States' leading role inNATO and policies thereof. NATO and Russia agreed to cooperate on security issues at the2002 Rome summit and had been gradually improving relations. However, due to theexpansion of the alliance, theRussian intervention in Georgia,Russia's war campaign against Ukraine and other controversies, relations have since deteriorated significantly.[516]
In May 2015, following increased tensions with NATO, Russia closed a keymilitary transport corridor (the Northern Distribution Network), which had allowed NATO to deliver military supplies toAfghanistan through the Russian territory.[517] The Northern Distribution Network was established in 2010 in response to the increased risk of sending supplies through Pakistan.[518]
A June 2016Levada poll found that 69% of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in theBaltic states andPoland – former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia – is a threat to Russia.[519]
Russia expressed support for the United States'war on terror. Russia also agreed to provide logistic support for the United States forces inAfghanistan to aid in anti-terrorist operations. Russia allowed U.S. and NATO forces to pass through its territory to go to Afghanistan.[517] In 2017, the former Deputy Secretary of StateAntony Blinken said: "We cooperated with regard to Afghanistan, where Russia played a positive role, particularly in letting our forces and our equipment transit into and out of Afghanistan."[520]
The U.S. and Russia on Thursday completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Russian hackers behind the damaging cyber intrusion of the State Department in recent months used that perch to penetrate sensitive parts of the White House computer system, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.
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