"I don't think that anybody at this point is under the impression that a wholesale reset of our relationship is possible at this time, but we might as well test out what they are actually willing to do," a source in the Obama administration told Bloomberg's Josh Rogin, adding behind-the-scenes outreach attempts would continue "regardless of the likelihood of success".
According to the columnist, Obama's National Security Council revised Washington's relations with Moscow in December to include dozens of meet-ups and efforts from both Departments of State and Departments of Defense.
The columnist speculated that Kerry's trip was at the scheduling stage when it got scrapped due to the lack of headway. Rogin also said it was Kerry who had floated the idea of US dropping some of the sanctions if Russia complied with some of conditions aimed at restoring peace in eastern Ukraine.
It was suggested that the issue of Crimea should be set aside to give the parties a leeway in negotiating a way out of the east Ukrainian crisis, which could result in Washington easing some of the most "onerous" economic restrictions imposed on Moscow following Crimea's reunification with Russia back in March.
Over the course of 2014, Russia was several times targeted with sanctions, including economic ones against its banking, energy and defense sectors, from the United States and the European Union over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Moscow has denied having anything to do with the conflict in Ukraine's southeast.
