TOKYO, July 21. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s plans to improve relations with Russia are not shared by the US elite and his authority is being hampered, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s (upper house of parliament) International Affairs Committee, told reporters on Saturday.

"I suppose that Mr. Trump was quite sincere in Helsinki when announcing his intentions to normalize relations with Russia and to advance them. It is another matter that his intentions are not shared by the majority of the US elite," Kosachev told TASS.

The lawmaker pointed out that President Trump was "under the most intense pressure" and his powers "are deliberately being restricted."

"It is practically impossible to predict how US policy towards Russia will transform," he admitted.

Nevertheless, "Russia’s policy toward the United States is not going to change. Russia is ready for cooperation with the US" on any relevant international issue, he concluded.