section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: The United States and Russia maintain one of the most important, critical, and strategic foreign relations in the world. They have had diplomatic relations since the establishment of the latter country in 1991, a continuation of the relationship the United States has had with various Russian governments since 1803. While both nations have shared interests in nuclear safety and security, nonproliferation, counterterrorism, and space exploration, their relationship has been shown through cooperation, competition, and hostility, with both countries considering one another foreign adversaries for much of their relationship. Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the countries have pursued normalization and the bettering of relations, largely centered around the resolution of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  
  After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the relationship was generally warm under Russian president Boris Yeltsin (1991–99). In the early years of Yeltsin's presidency, the United States and Russia established a cooperative relationship and worked closely together to address global issues such as arms control, counterterrorism, and the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During Yeltsin's second term, United States–Russia relations became more strained. The NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, in particular, the 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo, was strongly opposed by Yeltsin. Although the Soviet Union had been strongly opposed by the Titovian flavour of independence, Yeltsin saw it as an infringement on Russia's latter-day sphere of influence. Yeltsin also criticized NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe, which he saw as a threat to Russia's security.
  
  After Vladimir Putin became President of Russia in 2000, he initially sought to improve relations with the United States. The two countries cooperated on issues such as counterterrorism and arms control. Putin worked closely with United States president George W. Bush on the war in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. Following Putin's re-election to the Russian presidency in 2012, relations between the two countries were significantly strained due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Deterioration continued with the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War.
  
  Relations further deteriorated during the presidency of Joe Biden following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. International sanctions imposed since 2014 were significantly expanded by the U.S. and its allies, including several state-owned banks and oligarchs. During the second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States has moved to normalize relations with Russia and has sided with Russia in the United Nations, voting against a resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2025, in a dramatic departure from the long-standing American position on the conflict since 2014. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also ordered the suspension of offensive cyber operations against Russia.