In a world where «American foreign policy is all too often lacking a strategic focus and shaped by limited and sometimes unrelated political interests» — and Russian foreign policy is preoccupied with reasserting geostrategic power and national greatness — US-Russian relations have gone from pragmatic cooperation to more suspicious and confrontational interactions.
In this article, published in Politico Magazine on August 15, 2025, Toby Gati, co-chair of the Board of Directors of the School of Civic Education and former adviser to US President Bill Clinton on Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, discusses how the views of Putin’s top adviser on America, Yuri Ushakov, and the Russian Government have changed over the years; where the line is between person contacts, business interests, and Russia’s official foreign policy; how Russia will deal with a US President who is «neither the enemy [Russia] needs nor the friend they can trust»; and what it all means for US-Russian relations and the future of Ukraine.