Is Trump wooing Russia again – and why?

EXPLAINERCIA chief’s Moscow visit and Russian finance minister attending a G20 meeting in the US signal renewed Russia-dialogue" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="198060" data-entity-type="topic">US-Russia dialogue.United States President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be taking steps to increase contact with key figures in Moscow, even as Russia’s Ukraine" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="142386" data-entity-type="event">war in Ukraine continues and US-backed peace efforts remain stalled.The latest signs that the US wants to step up relations include a rare visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the surprise appearance of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at a Group of 20 meeting hosted by the US on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ukraine’s Zelenskyy plans to hit Russia with ‘1,000 drones’ a daylist 2 of 3Ukrainian nuclear power plant without external power for over a weeklist 3 of 3Death toll from Russian strike on Ukrainian arms depot rises to 38end of listHowever, this contact does not necessarily amount to a restoration of US-Russian relations, analysts said.Washington continues to back sanctions against Moscow while it wages war on Ukraine and major differences over territory remain unresolved.So what were these latest contacts about, and are US-Russian relations on the up?The most significant meeting recently was Ratcliffe’s visit last week to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian intelligence officials.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was informed about the discussions but did not personally meet Ratcliffe.Trump described the visit as “semiroutine” and said it was connected to efforts to end the Ukraine" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="142386" data-entity-type="event">war in Ukraine. US media reported that Ratcliffe also raised concerns about a possible Russian attack on NATO members and Russia’s relationship with Iran.Trump, who claimed he would end the Ukraine war within “24 hours” of starting his second presidential term in January 2025 but has since failed to broker an agreement, has generally sought to play down tensions between Washington and Moscow. After Ratcliffe’s visit, he said the CIA director had had “good talks” with Putin. “He’s not going to be attacking a NATO territory,” Trump said.