By Mikhail Zubov
"What has been happening in Ukraine in recent years has been the result of moves made by the previous US administration and the European Union ...
"What we have heard in recent years instils certain cautious optimism. Those close to Obama say there is no need to hurry with a missile defence. We welcome such statements."
- Prime Minister Vladimir PUTIN in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
EXPERTS' ANALYSIS AND OPINION
Vyacheslav NIKONOV, President of the Polity Foundation: "Few doubted that the Bush administration had a hand in the Russian-Ukrainian gas conflict from the outset. One merely needed to ask the age-old question of "who benefits" to see the truth. The Obama administration is seen so far as a clean sheet of paper, but we should not have any illusions. Differences may be finely nuanced. In his inauguration address, Obama mentioned the word "peace", which Bush practically never used, four times. But on the whole, US foreign strategy aimed at global domination is unlikely to change.
"If we look at Washington-Kiev relations, we will see 1,700 US non-governmental organisations currently functioning in Ukraine, exercising their influence on various aspects of Ukrainian policy. Compare this with two or three Russian organisations. The US objective is to draw Ukraine into NATO and this objective will not change under the Obama administration. On the other hand, the US could slow down or freeze the deployment of a missile defence shield - for purely technical reasons."
Gleb PAVLOVSKY, President of Foundation for Effective Politics (FEP): "Mr Putin has made his statement now because with a new US administration installed, it is the right time to voice one's wishes and hopes for the future. The signal can be read as follows: "You can start with a clean sheet of paper, we are ready for it." But I do not think Mr Putin is kidding himself about Obama.
"I am practically sure that the new administration itself does not know how to play the Ukraine card. On the one hand, the country is of no value to the Obama administration, it is on the periphery of its interests. On the other hand, Washington realises that Ukraine is an easy way of creating a headache for Russia. And since the central philosophy in US foreign policy remains deterrence, it will not give up this trump card.
"Russia is important for the US as a logistic route to Afghanistan, where Obama plans to scale up fighting, and we will be needed. The US would, of course, have liked to get the safe passage for free, while we should bargain hard and offer no gifts. Theoretically, their payment for our involvement could be the abandonment of the missile programme. Perhaps even Obama himself wants to reject the system because of its high costs."