Easing of strained relations (7)
I believe the answer is:
detente
'easing of strained relations' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for detente that I've seen before include "relaxation" , "Relaxed relations" , "Improvement of political relations" , "Easing of strained relationships between countries" , "Easing of strained relations" .)