Nezavisimaya Gazeta: "Mr Obama should signal to Russia that he wants better relations"
On December 27, the New York Times urged the new President to improve relations with Russia, publishing an editorial titled "Mr Obama and Mr Putin". As is clear from the title, the article advises Mr Obama to deal with Prime Minister Putin rather than President Dmitry Medvedev.
The unusual editorial starts with the following words: "Given all he faces, Barack Obama may be tempted to put Russia on a back burner. We hope he does not." Traditionally, Russia comes under fire in the New York Times.
The newspaper writes that Russian-American relations have disintegrated to a dangerous low, with the Kremlin increasingly acting to antagonize the United States. Furthermore, America's European allies have been in no mood to take their cue on Russia from Washington. A majority have resisted American efforts to quickly bring Georgia and Ukraine into NATO. The alliance, which cut formal ties with Russia after the Georgia-Russia war in August, has begun a "conditional and graduated re-engagement" with Moscow.
The editorial notes that "it also reflects the erosion of European trust in President Bush's leadership". It notes that Mr Obama does have a few advantages in dealing with Russia: He is new, and the Russians are no less intrigued by him than is the rest of the world. Moreover, "Russia is deep in economic crisis. Mr Putin's popularity and power have been based largely on Russia's windfall profits from soaring energy prices. Now the Russian stock market is in free fall and factories are closing, while Mr Putin's ratings slip."
The newspaper has urged Mr Obama to signal to the Russians that he wants better relations,, which would mean cutting back on belligerent talk and inviting the Russians to high-level consultations on areas in which the two countries can quickly achieve cooperation -- say, on combating piracy. Mr Obama should consider renewing the START 1 treaty, which expires in December 2009. The editorial goes on to say that he could tone down demands for NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, especially since neither is ready, and review plans to station defensive missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Pro-Rector of MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) Alexei Bogaturov thinks that this editorial demonstrates the flexibility of U.S. public opinion. It consists of different views that feed the competition of ideas. This does not mean that no views prevail, but rather that traditional criticism of Russia does not block the emergence of sound ideas.
"The United States will never stop criticizing Russia, but it should not allow ideology-based criticism to replace real politics," the expert said. Apparently, the aforementioned recommendations to Mr Obama have been made by peace-seeking Democrats. In the last few months a whole group of U.S. delegations visited Russia and voiced sound ideas similar to those of their Russian colleagues. Some of them are reflected in the editorial.
Bagaturov believes that before making a decision on combating piracy, surely an important issue, Moscow and Washington should agree to hold regular consultations to avoid squabbles caused by provocations of third countries, and determine the principles of our relations - for instance, confirming the absence of hostile intentions. "These principles should be defined anew, because after the Georgian story, Russia has become suspicious of American military intentions. The same is obviously true of the United States," he said.
The expert called the editorial's recommendations "symptomatic treatment that will not cure the disease - recurrent mutual mistrust in the military sphere". It is possible, however, to use U.S. advice in beginning the treatment.
Andrei Terekhov
