Reset for Obama-Clinton team in Russia

Buried under the headlines of an historic vote on healthcare, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently returned from a two-day trip to Russia. Her time in Moscow underscores the strides the Obama-Clinton team has made in US-Russian relations since coming to office one year ago.

Talks between the United States and Russia have yielded results. On Iran, Russia has come on board to ensure, short of full sanctions, the non-infringement of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. On Afghanistan, Russia is gradually increasing its support for logistics corridors. The arms control treaty appears to be nearly complete.

It has not been easy getting to this point. The view from Moscow during the Bush administration was that the US had rolled out a menacing missile defense system on Russia’s borders, waged a needless war in Iraq, expanded NATO despite Russia’s objections, violated Serbia’s territorial integrity by recognizing Kosovo, and downplayed the aspiration of the Abkhaz and Ossetians in Georgia.

Some of these views are more justifiable than others. But the contours were clear: US-Russia relations were in a rut.

That’s why President Obama has taken a different approach than his predecessor. In the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, relations with the U.S. have become ‘more constructive, tending more to foster the search for some kind of generally acceptable solutions.’

Early in the administration, the Obama team was able to convince the Kyrgyz Republic (and Russia) to keep a strategic military base. They have also reworked an anti-missile defense system in Central Europe that should be more palatable to all concerned.

The rhetoric concerning Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO membership has also been toned down. Rather than neo-Cold War banter, the Obama Administration has adopted a near-term practical approach of using other means to strengthen ties with Eurasia.

And we shouldn’t forget that what’s not happening deserves some attention. President Medvedev is no longer threatening to station missiles in Kaliningrad. For now, the Russian military has stopped menacing maneuvers at sea and in the air over Europe.

Of course, Russia hasn’t renounced its penchant for geopolitical gamesmanship. But this Administration realized something early on: a normal relationship with Russia is necessary. We won’t always see eye-to-eye, but it is important to build a foundation so that when prickly things pop up – and they will – we have a foundation to fall back on, not an abyss to fall in to.