US Risks National Security If Fails to Reset Relations With Russia - Carter Page

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Attempts by a number of US congressmen to prevent a new administration’s reset in relations with Russia, including a call to set up a special panel to investigate Russia's alleged interference in the US presidential campaign, may bring about national security threats, former advisor to Donald Trump’s campaign Carter Page wrote in a letter to Senator John McCain, seen by Sputnik.

"Any efforts by members of Congress now to undercut potential new approaches to Russia would risk U.S. national security and innumerable service members lives," Page said in a letter to McCain, who serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent late on Tuesday.

"American citizens are largely tired of failed interventionist policies. … The number of proxy wars involving Washington and Moscow across the globe still put countless lives at risk today," Page wrote.

On December 18, Senate Republican leader McConnell received a letter from a number of US congressmen, including McCain, asking to establish a special panel to conduct a hearing on the alleged Russian role in hacking the Democratic Party emails during the presidential campaign in November.

While the decision on a special bipartisan cross-committee panel has not been made yet, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Republican Bob Corker, will hold a classified briefing and an open hearing on the alleged Russian interference in January.

"Whatever evidence might eventually be unearthed by Congress and the executive branch in the various ongoing investigations about Russia, it is unlikely that anything will ever be found that is so blatant as the hostile and highly undiplomatic statement by Mrs. Clinton: ‘We came, we saw, he died.’ [her statement reported by US media in October 2011 on the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi] President Obama was absolutely correct when he referred to this failed intervention as his worst mistake," Page wrote.

Page’s letter comes amid reports that the United States is close to announcing measures it will take against Russia for its alleged interference in the US election. The White House is determining how to revise a 2015 executive order to allow such actions, but an announcement on the public aspect of Washington's retaliation could come as early as this week, The Washington Post said citing anonymous US officials.

Election of Donald Trump as US president opened new prospects for the future of US-Russian relations, as during the campaign he repeatedly praised the Russian leadership and claimed Washington and Moscow need to work closer together on a number of issues, primarily on the fight against terrorism in Syria.

McCain is currently on a trip to the Baltics with a few other senators to speak with officials about the NATO’s commitment to its allies’ security and about the alleged Russian threat.