Donald Trump: Post-election euphoria in Russia begins to fade

Moscow is being forced to readjust its expectations of a closer relationship with the US just four months after Donald Trump was elected President.There had been celebrations in Russia at the thought of a White House that did not involve Hillary Clinton, with hopes it would end years of fractious diplomacy.

Donald Trump was given blanket coverage on state media and souvenir matryoshka dolls (at $AU45) and coffee mugs (slightly less at $10) imprinted with Mr Trump's face were snapped up by Russians and tourists.

But that heady excitement has now dissipated and the tone has changed in Russia.

Read More

Putin needs the US as much as Trump does Russia

The continuing frenzy in Washington about contacts between members of United States President Donald Trump’s team and Russia has diverted attention from the first real test of the new US president’s campaign pledge to improve relations with Moscow. Thursday saw the first formal meeting between senior officials on either side, when the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, sat down for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of a G20 foreign ministers gathering in Bonn.

From the neutral venue — the former West German capital that has transformed itself into a tranquil diplomatic hub — to the participants, who are both veterans in their particular fields, it would appear that the risk of unpleasant surprises has been minimised (though it is hard to be quite so confident these days).

Read More