Russia-US Relations 'Probably Worse' Than During Cold War - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He said that the relations are at such a low level due to the actions of the current presidential administration.

"New Cold War? Well, maybe even worse… taking into account the actions of the present presidential administration in Washington," Peskov said when asked by the anchorman whether Russia and the United States were in a new Cold War.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with US President Donald Trump could facilitate an improvement in the countries' historically low relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with US television Friday.

"I think if two presidents meet each other, if they exchange views and if they decide that they want to re-establish dialogue, then there will be a chance for our bilateral relations to get better," Peskov said.

Earlier, Russian officials said that Moscow-Washington ties have reached the lowest level since the Cold War under the Barack Obama administration.

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions against eight Russian companies in connection with the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). In particular, the sanctions have been imposed against the 150th Aircraft Repair Plant, Aviaexport, Bazalt, Kolomna Design Bureau of Machine-Building, Rosoboronexport, Ulyanovsk Higher Aviation Academy of Civil Aviation, Ural Training Center for Civil Aviation, and the Zhukovskiy and Gagarin Academy.

Commenting on the move, a representative of the US State Department told Sputnik that the decision was made during the final days of Barack Obama’s presidency.