Former US Ambassador to Russia John Beyrle said the United States and Russia must contribute to the bilateral dialogue in order to improve the dangerous level of relations between them.

“We need to invest more in that dialogue right now because the US-Russia relations are in dangerous shape,” Beyrle told CNN on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump held their first summit in Helsinki, Finland. The two leaders addressed key issues confronting the United States and Russia and sought ways to improve bilateral relations. Both said the initial meeting went very well.

Beyrle recalled the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election a major issue between two countries.

“Trump’s inability to deal with this really raises questions about the wisdom of continuing to invest a lot in leadership of this relationship from the top,” Beyrle said.

At a joint press conference after the summit Trump said he did not see “any reason” why Russia would have interfered in the US election in 2016, contrary to allegations of the US intelligence community and a number of lawmakers.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied the allegations of meddling in the US political system and have emphasized none of these accusations have been backed by evidence.

Source: Sputnik