Uncertainty clouds future of U.S.-Russia relations following Flynn departure

The resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn leaves many wondering what the future holds for U.S.-Russia relations.

Virginia Tech professor Besnik Pula says it’s hard to tell what the Kremlin is making of this, but it would seem that Flynn’s departure is a blow to the pro-Putin lobby in the administration.

“It appears that traditional Republican hawks are reigning in over the administration’s foreign policy apparatus and this will hamper whatever hopes President Trump had in putting U.S. relations with Russia on a new and different footing,” said Pula, whose research expertise is in the comparative political economy of developing countries, post-communist transformations, and the social and institutional impacts of globalization.

“We should get a better read on relations with Russia when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis begin to settle in to their new roles,” said Pula.