Roundup: Flagship security meeting reveals strained U.S.-Russian ties

American Senators said on Sunday at the 53rd Munich Security Conference(MSC) that new sanctions need to be imposed against Russia, while the Russian foreign minister has called here for "pragmatic and mutually-respect" in the Russian-U.S. relations.

"Top of the list will be sanctions on Russia," said Lindsey Graham, member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services of the United States.

"We're going to take a long hard look at what Russia did to undermine our election, so that you're better prepared," Graham said during a panel discussion titled "US Foreign Policy: A Congressional Debate".

Graham also warned that Russia is not an ally, and that "we need to ensure that the Russians will not interfere in Germany", referring to the German national election this year.

Another American Senator Christopher Murphy also blamed Russia for trying to interfere the U.S. election, saying "we are not doing enough to investigate Russia's attempt to swing the U.S. election. Russia has paid very little for that."

The "Congress needs to get to the bottom of the matter, and there may need to be more sanctions," said Murphy, member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States.

He also believed that it was not enough to increase the defense budget alone. New measures should be taken to push back "Russian expansionism".

Meanwhile, Murphy accused U.S.President Donald Trump's administration of not being clear at all. He often scratched his head about Trump's remarks.

"No one has any clue what the foreign policy of this administration is," Murphy stressed.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who also addressed this year's MSC, said that his country will "continue to hold Russia accountable" for the Ukrainian issue, even as Trump is searching for new common ground with Kremlin.

Therefore, some analysts believed that the possibility of improving the strained Russia-West relations during the new presidency of Trump has dimmed after the United States re-calibrated its NATO policy, declaring to be "the greatest ally."

On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov advocated during his speech that his country wants the Russian-U.S. relations to be based on "pragmatism, mutual respect and an understanding of special responsibility for global security."

Responding to a question on alleged election interference in the United States and France, Lavrov said briefly: "Give us some facts."

At the same time, the Russian top diplomat called for a "post-West order," saying "post-Western values" include post-democracy, justice, tolerance, liberty, civil rights, human rights, freedom, open society and peace.

Since its foundation in 1963, the annual MSC, once dubbed a "transatlantic family gathering," has become a forum dedicated to promoting peaceful conflict resolution and international cooperation and dialogue. It was held this year from Feb. 17 to 19. Endit