MOSCOW (Voice of Russia): Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has said that relations between Russia and the United States have once again gone back several decades, and the two countries will remain each other’s fundamental rivals in the future, as they were in the past.
In a statement posted on the social media platform MAX, Dmitry Medvedev said it must be acknowledged that relations between Russia and the United States have once again suffered damage whose effects will last for decades. According to him, the two countries were rivals in the past, they are rivals today, and they will remain rivals in the future.
The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council referred to US President Donald Trump’s statement that the White House does not currently intend to impose new sanctions against Russia, so as not to harm efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
According to Medvedev, the most important words in the US President’s statement are “currently”, because they show that the possibility of sanctions against Russia remains in the future.
He said President Trump faces strong criticism in the US Congress over the 2026 Lindsey Graham Act on sanctions against Russia and Iran, while some circles also support the decision to delay implementation of the law.
Dmitry Medvedev said making such a decision before the congressional elections is not politically easy for Trump, especially as he faces pressure from anti-Russia circles in Congress and from European countries.
He described the US President as a pragmatic politician and said the diesel trade deal with Russia and some other steps could bring tangible benefits for Trump.
However, Medvedev made clear that these steps do not change the fundamental situation. According to him, the Graham Act is a systematic and long-term legal measure of anti-Russia policy, whose effects could last for decades.
The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council said decisions to temporarily suspend implementation of some provisions of this law could in the future be used to pressure Russia and to threaten severing relations on various issues.
Referring to the past, he said former US President Barack Obama had mentioned in conversation with him the granting of waivers under the Jackson-Vanik amendment and later the repeal of that amendment.
According to Medvedev, the amendment was abolished about 35 years after it was adopted, which is an example of how the effects of US sanctions laws can last for a long time.
He said the effects of the current state of Russia-US relations and the new sanctions legislation may also be felt by several generations of politicians.
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