FOREIGN POLICY/RUSSIA: “President Donald Trump’s hopes of striking a grand bargain with Russia are fading, two administration officials confirmed to CNN Thursday [3-30-17].
According to one senior administration official, this isn’t necessarily because Trump’s view of Russian President Vladimir Putin has evolved. But Trump believes in the current atmosphere — with so much media scrutiny and ongoing probes into Trump-Russia ties and election meddling — that it won’t be possible to ‘make a deal,’ as the President himself has framed it, the officials said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the White House’s skepticism about reaching a speedy detente with Russia.”
-Sara Murray and Elizabeth Landers, “Trump’s hopes of thawing relationship with Russia fades,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, March 30, 2017