While on the face of it, it seems that Russia has changed its policy towards Washington – traditionally its main adversary – since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the agency says nothing has changed below the surface.

This "illusory thaw" stems from the Kremlin's "ambition to exploit" Trump's new administration to "restore bilateral relations and pursue a settlement that would formalize Ukraine's defeat," the yearbook says.

The intelligence agency says Russia's state institutions have been instructed by the Kremlin to "project openness and willingness to cooperate" with the United States – "at least for now" – for several reasons.

The most important aspect is the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations. If direct flights and visa issuance were re-established, Moscow would be able to "facilitate espionage, influence operations and the movement of sanctioned goods into Russia," the yearbook says.

Ending sanctions is another "high priority," as they impact Russia's defence industry and the regime's sustainability, the report says.

Peace talks: A tactic to buy time

Despite months of U.S.-backed negotiations to try and find a way to end the war, "Moscow has no intention of ending the war until its objectives are achieved or the conditions are favorable for doing so," the yearbook states, bluntly.

It says Russia is "setting long-term operational objectives" for the war and this "confirms that the recent uptick in peace-talk rhetoric is merely a tactic to buy time."

Moscow wants any potential settlement to harm Ukraine's interests and those of its supporters, the yearbook states. The talks are being used as a "tool for manipulation" to exploit Western goodwill to "justify new and broader demands."

"Russia's aims remain unchanged: it seeks to marginalize the United States and NATO and to reshape Europe's security architecture according to Moscow's vision," the agency says.

Pragmatic cooperation

The agency says Russia "eagerly offers nominal cooperation" and hopes to benefit by firstly, binding U.S. and Russian interests more closely together, and secondly, by widening what Moscow perceives as existing rifts between Washington and Europe.

One area where it envisions "pragmatic cooperation" is the Arctic, the yearbook says, where the Kremlin "could signal a preference for working with Washington while keeping China out of the region."

While both Russia and the U.S. are already Arctic nations, Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Greenland, saying it is needed for security reasons to keep China out of the area.

You can read the full yearbook here. 

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