The nascent Russian–US “New Détente” is moving at a swift pace after their leaders talked on the phone last month, their representatives discussed strategic resource deals during their meeting in Riyadh shortly thereafter, and Trump just froze all military aid to Ukraine to force Zelensky to the peace table. Reports are now circulating alleging that Trump is considering lifting some sanctions on Russia as the next phase of their rapprochement and it would be a good idea to start by lifting the ones on RT.
American investigative journalist Ben Swann published an open letter to Trump about this last week where he argued that their continued imposition contradicts his team’s commitment to free speech that Vance famously reaffirmed in Munich last month. He also reminded him about how these restrictions target fellow American citizens as did related ones against Sputnik, TV Novosti, and others. Swann’s right, but there’s another reason for Trump to lift these sanctions that’s just as important, if not more.
As the “New Détente” begins reshaping the global systemic transition, it’s more important than ever that shared Russian-US interests are explained to the masses. RT has immense influence on global public opinion, especially in the Global South where an intense battle for hearts and minds is taking place. Lifting sanctions on it can therefore help advance American soft power interests in this context amidst uncertainty over the future of America’s own soft power instruments like USAID and Voice of America.
To be clear, RT will never function as an American proxy nor sell its soft power services to anyone, but its Russian state patron has an interest in explaining its newfound strategic convergence with the US that would be a lot easier to do if the latter lifted its sanctions. That’s because this requires like-minded Americans cooperating with these publicly financed Russian international media flagships, but they’re reluctant to do so right now out of fear of falling afoul of sanctions and having their lives ruined.
Moreover, it’s difficult for their teammates and contributors to do so with the enthusiasm that’s needed so long as these same platforms remain sanctioned by Trump, plus some of them might even personally consider this to be unethical unless those restrictions are lifted. Even if that doesn’t happen, Russia will still explain the “New Détente” to the masses as it unfolds, but this likely won’t be done with the gusto nor to the extent that’s needed for partially rehabilitating some of the US’ reputation abroad.
Therein lies the deeper motive behind why Trump should lift these sanctions since RT can do more than any other outlet to convince the greatest number of people in the world that the US is indeed revolutionizing its foreign policy in ways that make it much more of a trustworthy partner than before. It’s one thing for Russia to explain why it’s cooperating with the US on Ukraine and whatever else but another entirely for RT to suggest that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if others followed Russia’s lead.
Nobody should imagine that RT will stop criticizing US foreign policy, just that its traditional content might become interspersed with more material explaining how Trump is changing the US’ relationship with the world, some of which will predictably be positive where its interests align with Russia’s. This is an immensely valuable intangible benefit that Russia can give to the US, but its full potential will only be unlocked if Trump lifts Biden’s sanctions on RT, which he’d be wise to do without further delay.
