Russia’s assistance to the United States in the fight against coronavirus as a whole will not change the relations between the two countries. However, this gesture, which Donald Trump called “cute,” can strengthen the friendship of Russians and Americans. This opinion was expressed by Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, in a conversation with 360.
According to him, politicians in their behavior are often guided by large, sometimes selfish interests related to multinational companies, power structures, geopolitical goals, and world domination. The latter is especially true for the United States.
“Therefore, we cannot harbor any illusions and hope that such steps (sending Russia medical supplies to the States – approx. Ed.) Will change the attitude of the US authorities towards our country. But from the point of view of interaction between peoples, this is very important. And peoples ultimately influence the power and politics of the state, ”Novikov said.
However, he recalled several episodes from the late Soviet Union that helped improve bilateral relations. We are talking about the girls Samantha Smith and Ekaterina Lycheva, who in the 1980s visited the USSR and the USA, respectively, with peacekeeping missions.
It all started with the fact that Smith wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee, Yuri Andropov, and asked if he was going to fight the States. Andropov unexpectedly answered an American schoolgirl and invited her to come to the Soviet Union. A few years later, the Soviet schoolgirl Ekaterina Lycheva paid a return visit to the United States. She spoke of the need for world peace.
According to Novikov, these trips helped the citizens of the USSR and the USA to be more kind to each other, despite the cold war between the countries.
“Sometimes a small episode in the relationship between the two countries is remembered for many decades, goes down in history,” he concluded.
And it all started with the fact that US President Donald Trump spoke about humanitarian aid coming to the country. According to him, China sent “something”, and “it was excellent.” He was flattered to learn about a large plane from Russia with medical supplies.
“Other countries sent us a lot, I was pleasantly surprised,” Trump said.
The United States became the first in the world in the number of cases. According to the latest information, 164 thousand people were infected with the coronavirus, more than three thousand died.