Estonian FM sees no improvement of U.S.-Russian relations during Trump administration

Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser, who's on a visit to Finland, said on Tuesday that he did not believe the relations between Moscow and Washington would improve during the new U.S. presidency.

Talking to Finnish national broadcaster Yle, Mikser said he hoped that the U.S. would not deal with the sanctions against Russia in a wrong way.

He insisted that Russian pullout from Crimea and adherence to the Minsk peace deal should be the requirement.

Mikser also dismissed speculations that spheres of interest of great powers would re-emerge in Europe. He said the NATO security guarantees for Estonia would hold during the new U.S. administration.

Russian ties with the United States and other NATO members experienced a record low during the Obama administration, mainly due to the Crimea issue, the Ukrainian crisis and the hacking accusations.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to stabilize and deepen bilateral cooperation during a phone conversation on Saturday, according to the Kremlin.

"The two sides expressed willingness to work actively together to stabilize and develop Russian-American cooperation on a constructive basis, as equals, and to mutual benefit," the Kremlin said in a statement issued after the two presidents' first phone conversation since Trump's inauguration last week.

And Putin was also among the first leaders of major powers to send congratulations to Trump after the result of the U.S. presidential election was announced in November. Endit