BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – United States’ relations with Russia will not stay tense permanently, US State Department Coordinator for Sanctions Policy Daniel Fried said Tuesday.
"Don’t believe that bad relations with Russia are permanent," Fried said at a European Policy Center think-tank conference in Brussels.
Fried said Washington would keep open the possibility for improvement in relations with Moscow, but suggested that "it is possible to cooperate with Russia while pushing hard on sanctions."
Russia’s relations with the West deteriorated in early 2014 due largely to Crimea rejoining Russia and a crisis in eastern Ukraine.
The United States and European Union member states blamed Russia for interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs, while Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations.
