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...ight terrorism. "US-Russian relations have been on a pretty modest course for some years now. There's really not a lot of substance in the relationship the way there was in the 1990s," with the fall of the Soviet empire, "and there aren't that many issues in which the US and Russia have a lot of business to do with one another," he said. Goldgeier said the best thing Washington can do is to not overreact to Putin's remarks. "Putin is doing a good job all by himself in embarrassing himself, so I don't think there is a need for the US to add to that," he said. The US State Department sought to limit the focus on Putin's remarks, emphasizing that relations between Moscow and Washington are "outstanding." Click image to magnify Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also sought to minimize the differences between Washington and Moscow on Ukraine, saying: "Things are never entirely smooth. ... There are problems in relations between two states with wide interests in the world, especially Russia and the United States. But we have reached such a level of partnership that these problems can be discussed openly and we try to find solutions suitable to both sides and, most importantly, that enhance stability and the principle of collective action in world politics." Still, some US officials say that, for all of Putin's bluster, it is still possible to alter Russia's stance thro...