The Guardian (Great Britain): "Breaking the cold war paradigm"
If relations between Russia and the US are to improve, both sides must act on the president-elect's message of change
James Marson
An article in the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper last week pointed smugly at Americans' purported latent racism, noting the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles' reading of War of the Worlds on the radio. "If on November 4 a black man gets into the White House, it will be no less a miracle than an alien landing on earth."
The alien has now landed. And with his foreign policy set to be based on dialogue and multilateralism, Barack Obama presents a new challenge, and opportunity, to Russian leaders.
If he carries through what many commentators have for years been calling for - a policy that promotes a deeper understanding of Russia's voice on the international scene, rather than its constant censure and isolation - Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev will no longer be able to score easy popularity boosts by criticising US policy as "expansionist" and "arrogant".
George Bush and John McCain's attitudes to Russia offered them a much better opportunity to present Russia as a country besieged by external enemies. Back in August, Putin suggested that the war in Georgia was encouraged by the US in order to secure backing for McCain in the presidential election. McCain suggested that Russia should be thrown out of G8 for its actions. Statements such as this inflame public opinion and pump up ratings for tough-talking leaders.
Obama's reaction to the war in Georgia was more measured than that of his erstwhile rival. Initially, he called on both sides for restraint, before becoming more critical of Russia as its troops surged further into Georgian territory. Obama isn't going to turn US foreign policy round in a day, but he represents an opportunity to overcome the cold war paradigm that has been used as a political prop in Russia and the US for decades.
It bodes ill for the future that, in his first state of the nation address earlier today, Medvedev was already displaying a desire to cling to past animosity by slamming the US for its role in the financial crisis, its unilateral actions on the international stage and decision to employ anti-missile systems on Russia's border. He also posed an immediate challenge by announcing that Russian missiles would be deployed in response to the anti-missile shield.
The desire for change and improvement cannot be one-sided. When Medvedev congratulated Obama in a telegram, he called for "constructive talks", but made it clear that any improvement in relations would have to be initiated from the American side. The problem is that Russia expects to be treated as an equal on the world stage. Medvedev and Putin's criticism of the "unipolar" world dominated by the US carries an often explicit suggestion that Russia should be another pole.
But Russia's self-image and foreign policy expectations do not correspond with reality. It is a major player, but not in the same league as the US, or the growing power of China.
By electing Obama, Americans have shown their openness to regeneration and change. Medvedev is also supposedly of a new generation which can move beyond old conflicts to form new bonds. But if relations between the US and Russia are to improve, it will not happen without Russia showing a desire to engage with Obama and a willingness to give up its unrealistic great power ambitions. Obama promises a multilateral presidency, but for real progress, both sides need to put into action his message of change.
