WASHINGTON — As media reports, congressional committees and the FBI scrutinize possible ties between Trump associates and the Russian government during the 2016 US election campaign, are prospects for US-Russia cooperation in the fight against the so-called Islamic State (IS) and in Syria on hold? The US domestic political environment may be constraining and slowing Trump’s ability to maneuver, but there are signs both sides are still interested in pursuing such cooperation, diplomatic observers said.

“Both sides are interested in exploring cooperating in Syria, but there certainly are political constraints, there is no question,” Paul Saunders, the executive director of the Center for the National Interest, told Al-Monitor March 6.

“On the US side, obviously we have our political environment here, and the Russians are well aware of the environment here,” said Saunders, who served as a senior Russia adviser at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration. “And that has led Russian officials to wonder what the Trump administration may be in a position to do.”

“I think it is clear there is this political constraint,” Saunders said. “At the same time, I would say the president [Trump] knows how to act in ways to change the narrative.”