The negative view of Russia from the U.S. is being fueled by an internal political struggle in Washington and needs to be resolved, according to the CEO and president of Russia’s second-largest bank.

“We are sick and tired of what’s happening in America and this anti-Russian stance,” VTB Bank’s Andrey Kostin told CNBC Tuesday morning.

“We don’t believe it’s very much about Russia. It’s about the domestic conflict among the political elite in America,” Kostin added.

The relationship between the U.S. and Russia has deteriorated despite the initial perception that President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could strike stronger ties. Aside from their diverging views on international issues such as North Korea, U.S. authorities have also blamed Russia for interfering in last year’s U.S presidential election, leading to new sanctions against Moscow.

The tense issue of Russian meddling in the election has dragged on. Putin warned last week that U.S. media companies could be restricted when operating in Russia after calls from American lawmakers to limit Russian outlets, namely RT and Sputnik, for their involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Putin also said that Moscow’s biggest mistake in the last 15 years was trusting the West “too much.”

According to Kostin, the negative sentiment on Russia is bad for the relationship between the two countries, but also for the world. “But I don’t think we can very much influence the situation until the American elite will sort out this issue by itself,” Kostin added.

Source: cnbc
Russian banker ‘sick and tired’ about US stance