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As controversy continues to swirl around Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, a new report from Bloomberg indicates that Russia is very pleased with the administration that Donald Trump is forming. Russia is particularly happy with the prospect of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson being named to run the State Department.
Tillerson has two decades of experience making deals in Russia’s oil industry. And he has been awarded Russia’s highest honor bestowed upon non-Russian citizens.
Anticipation of Tillerson’s nomination is fueling optimism in Moscow that the U.S. Russia relationship may soon improve, leading to removal of the economic sanctions that have crippled the Russian economy.
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Tillerson would not be the only friend of Moscow in the Trump administration, Michael Flynn Trump’s soon to be national security adviser is also a supporter of closer ties with Russia.
The Bloomberg report goes on to say characterize this a Russia’s “Dream Team.”
For years, Putin has railed against the U.S. for criticizing him on issues like Ukraine and limits on democracy, which is 25 years old in Russia this year, and not battling terrorism together. Trump, who’s pledged to work with Russia to defeat Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, represents the best chance Putin has had as president to forge a productive partnership with his Cold War foe.
While Tillerson’s foreign policy positions are largely a mystery, he criticized the Russian sanctions in 2014 for being ineffective. On Sunday, Trump said the 64-year-old Exxon boss’s experience overseeing operations in dozens of countries is just what the U.S. needs in negotiating with world leaders.
Flynn, who was paid to speak at an event for RT state television that Putin attended in Moscow last year, is vocal in his view that Islamic extremism is the greatest threat to the U.S. and advocates joining forces with Russia. Mattis is more hawkish on Putin, but he’s also criticized President Barack Obama for not doing more to recruit allies to fight terrorist groups in the Middle East.
The three appointments taken together would constitute a “dream team” for U.S.-Russia relations, according to Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump who’s come under criticism himself for his ties to Russia.
“These future senior officials represent a veritable American siloviki,” Page said, referring to the group of men around Putin with influence over the spy agencies and the military. “The chances of them meshing well is very high.”
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