With Russia-tinged investigations swirling around his administration, President Donald Trump has yet to fulfil a campaign pledge of closer co-operation with Moscow.
A planned trip by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Russia could test if detente proves anything more than talk.
In a move alarming US allies, Tillerson plans to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Belgium next month, according to US officials.
The top American diplomat almost always attends such gatherings, and Tillerson will follow up his absence in Brussels by travelling to Russia's capital shortly afterward.
The juxtaposition of the trips - one taken and one avoided - has reinforced concerns about America's commitment to NATO, which Trump has repeatedly fuelled by dressing down allies as deadbeats who aren't paying enough for their own defence and who take US help for granted.
So far, though, Trump has yet to make any major steps as president to bring Russia and the US closer together.
As a candidate, Trump opened the door to potentially rolling back the sanctions imposed on Russia after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014, a move Democrats and Republicans in Congress oppose. But as president, Trump has tamped down such suggestions as long as Russia fails to live up to its various commitments to end the fighting in Ukraine.
But Trump's biggest roadblock to a new Russia approach may be the political realities at home.
In a remarkable public disclosure Monday, FBI Director James Comey said the bureau is investigating whether Trump campaign associates co-ordinated with Russian officials as Moscow sought to sway the US presidential election. Several congressional committees are also investigating, ensuring the allegations of Russian meddling - and questions about Trump campaign collusion - stay in the spotlight for months to come.
Trump has denied any collaboration between his campaign and Russia. As a candidate, he spoke frequently of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and said improving relations with the traditional US adversary would be positive. He argued that Russia shared America's goal of defeating IS extremists.
