What's In It for Us? Clinton Signals New Russian-US Reset a Possibility

A possible new "reset" of relations between Moscow and Washington will depend on what the White House will get from it, according to former US Secretary of State and now presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Former US Secretary of State and now presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that she does not rule out a new "reset" of Russian-US relations, which she said will hinge on what the White House will obtain from it, RIA Novosti reported.

Her remarks came during the Democratic Party's presidential debates on Monday.

When asked whether she is ready to again push a symbolic "reset" button concerning Russia-US ties, something that she did seven years before, Clinton said that "it depends on what I get from it." 

Clinton recalled that in 2009, Moscow and Washington signed an agreement on the regular transit of US military equipment and personnel to Afghanistan over Russian territory.

Also at the time, the two inked a deal to curtail the build-up of nuclear weapons and agreed on sanctions against Iran.

The Russian-US "reset" was an attempt by the Obama administration to improve bilateral relations in 2009.

On March 6 of that year, Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pressed a red button emblazoned with a Russian word which Clinton thought meant "reset" in Russian. However, Lavrov explained to Clinton that the word on the button actually means "overcharge" rather than "reset".

The 2009 reset finally came to a standstill in March 2014, when media outlets described the process as having "failed", citing Crimea's reunification with Russia, the armed conflict in Ukraine and the alleged lack of Russian cooperation with the United States on Syria.