The past eight years have seen a Russian resurgence built off vast energy wealth and great power aspiration. Russia now can – and does – block US goals at the United Nations, threaten and even use force against young democratic countries the US supports, and influence issues of great concern to the United States, such as in Iran, in Central Asia, on the UN Security Council. The Bush Administration failed to understand this resurgence or send clear signals about how the US would respond. Instead, for the last eight years the Bush administration has pursued a misplaced approach founded on the personal relationship between President Bush and Putin. This approach has failed. Now the US faces a steep challenge with few good options – we must attempt to work with Russia on areas of mutual interest, as well as rebuild international consensus to stand up to Russia when its actions conflict with American interests and ideals.
Report
8 December 2011
U.S.-Russia relations have reached a tight spot on several central issues: discord over plans for European missile defense, disappointment with Russia's flawed elections, disagreement on how to end the regime crackdown in Syria and pressure Iran on its nuclear program. Led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the administration has taken strong stances on the elections and missile defense, while continuing partnership in other vital areas, including U.S. overflight rights to Afghanistan and New START treaty implementation. The ability to "walk and chew gum at the same time" - to stand strong on issues of principle, maintain communication and make pragmatic progress elsewhere - shows the success of the "reset" policy. In fact, the reset's critics are now getting what they said they wanted on missile defense and human rights - while in Afghanistan our military gets what it needs.
Report
26 September 2011
This weekend Russian Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin announced that he will once again seek the presidency, essentially guaranteeing him the position. He pledged, once president, to appoint the current president Dmitri Medvedev as prime minister. This is disappointing for Russian democracy but not unexpected, and should not necessarily entail a downturn in U.S.-Russian relations.
News
The New Republic 3 August 2010
Report
12 July 2010
U.S.-Russian relations will always be complex, at any given time demanding both collaboration on shared priorities and firm stands where our security interests and values diverge. The ‘reset' back to a stabilized diplomatic partnership allows the U.S. to seize opportunities to advance its interests - as the recent arrest of Russian spies in the U.S. and the subsequent "spy-swap" demonstrates. Since taking office, Obama has worked to improve the relationship and utilized that improvement to advance U.S. interests, obtaining concrete progress on important issues ranging from Iran to Eastern Europe to Afghanistan. The foundation of the relationship has been the new START accord that increases U.S. and global security by securing nuclear stockpiles and building a stable and transparent nuclear relationship between the world's two largest nuclear powers. All of this occurs in parallel with the realities of espionage and competition - and is a reminder of why the U.S. needs to use diplomacy to stay in the game, not remain on the sidelines. This is the type of relationship that best serves America's interests.
Report
25 June 2010
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty facilitates reductions in the strategic nuclear arsenals of the world's two largest nuclear powers and has earned overwhelming support from the military, national security experts and, just yesterday, thirty bipartisan national security leaders including Colin Powell. These same experts have also warned that a rejection of this treaty would put our national security at risk. Failure to ratify the agreement would, in the words of George H.W. Bush's National Security Advisor General Brent Scowcroft, throw our efforts to control nuclear threats into a "state of chaos."
News
The Washington Times 23 June 2010
Report
4 December 2009
Tomorrow, December 5, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is set to expire. START, the largest arms control agreement in history, was spearheaded by Ronald Reagan and signed by George H.W. Bush in 1991 after a decade of negotiations. Yet that has not stopped some conservatives in the Senate, like Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ), from attacking the Obama administration, saying that they do not have a “bridging agreement” ready should a follow-on treaty not be in place before the expiration date. Indeed, the Administration has declined to rush the negotiations in order to make sure that our security needs are met – while conservatives have played politics with the talks.
Report
7 July 2009
After eight years of the U.S. leaving international summits empty handed with no deliverables to speak of, the U.S.-Russian summit that wrapped up in Moscow today stands in stark contrast. President Obama, determined to reset U.S.-Russian relations and place them on a more productive and business-like track, focused on a number of core issues – arms control, Afghanistan, military cooperation, and proliferation threats. On each he achieved important deliverables. After eight years of inept diplomacy, it is refreshing that an American administration is finally able to use diplomacy as a tool to enhance American security. Yet many extreme conservatives seem to be fighting the Cold War all over again.
News
The Roots 6 July 2009
Report
1 July 2009
Next week President Obama will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. From the outset of his Administration, President Obama has sought to reset U.S.-Russian relations. Over the last eight years, U.S. policy rested on maintaining the superficial personal relationship between Bush and Putin, which failed to result in any tangible achievements and led to growing estrangement in U.S.-Russian relations. The Obama administration has sought to eliminate this superficiality and develop a more business-like relationship that is focused on core issues of mutual interest and concern that produces verifiable results.
Russia