Kerry Attempts to Restore Frosty Relations with Russia

It’s not like it’s a repeat of the Cold War.

But the atmosphere between Russia and the US lately has been chilly.

Tuesday an effort to warm things up: Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

They’re trying to smooth out the wrinkles in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Fiona Hill , director of the Center on the United States and Europe and senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, says Kerry is hoping Putin will use his contacts with Syria to find a solution to end the Syrian civil war.

But Hill says Putin has been skeptical of the United States because of past failures to deliver. It is up to Kerry, to convince Putin otherwise.

Putin kept Kerry waiting three hours before their meeting. Hill said that is standard operating procedure for Putin who often keeps executives and other leaders waiting for even longer. It’s Putin’s strategy, said Hill, to throw people off balance and to show he is the one in charge.