Summit reflects reset in Russian-US relations - Russian experts
Interfax
Moscow, 6 July: The first day of the Russian-US summit attests to the start of a reset in relations between Moscow and Washington, Russian political scientists believe.
"It is quite difficult to use the term 'revolution' in relations between Russia and the USA. But a there has definitely been a reset in relations," Aleksey Malashenko, a member of the academic council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre, told Interfax on Monday (6 July).
The political scientist called agreements between the Russian and US presidents, in particular in the sphere of reductions in nuclear weapons and military transit to Afghanistan, important, noting, however, that "we should not flatter ourselves".
"(US President Barack) Obama is the first president since the 'Cold War' era to fully separate Russia from the Soviet Union and to view it completely differently. He does not see it as an enemy or a very serious rival.
He views Russia benignly, first and foremost because he does not regard it as a potential adversary and a potentially great power, and he can afford to act as he sees fit," said Malashenko.
For his part, the president of the Politika foundation, Vyacheslav Nikonov, thinks that the agreement between Russia and the USA to reduce their nuclear potential by a third has important political significance.
"Russia and the USA's intentions to reduce their nuclear potential by a third is very important from a political standpoint, because control over nuclear weapons will be maintained. In this sense, the outcome of the meeting between (Russian President) Dmitriy Medvedev and Barack Obama is an important result," Nikonov told Interfax on Monday.
In the political scientist's opinion, the fact that the thesis on the interrelationship between defensive and offensive weapons was present in the Russian and US presidents' joint declaration is significant.
"President Medvedev acknowledged this fact. Previously, there were serious disagreements between Moscow and Washington over this position," said Nikonov.
In his opinion, during the talks Obama showed "his ability and willingness to make compromises".
"There are certain grounds to think that President Obama is capable of making compromises. Another important factor supporting this view is the US president's sceptical attitude towards the effectiveness of the ABM (anti-ballistic missile defence) system. Obama genuinely has serious doubts about its effectiveness," notes the political scientist.
For his part, the president of the Effective Policy Foundation, Gleb Pavlovskiy, thinks that apart from the joint understanding of the need to reduce their nuclear potential, the most important result of the meeting between the Russian and US presidents was the informal contact that took place between Medvedev and Obama.
"The link between offensive and defensive weapons is very important. But I think that the contact that took place between both presidents was a no less important result of the summit. Before the summit, neither Medvedev nor Obama was sure about the nature of such contact. Now through the efforts of both presidents, a working space for cooperation has been created," Pavlovskiy told Interfax.
In the political scientist's opinion, Obama demonstrated willingness to compromise. "The ability to make compromises is a fundamental position of Obama, and during the meeting with President Medvedev he showed this. But this does not mean that the US president will deal in compromises. It's just that Obama understands that without doing this he will not be able to build up relations on a foundation of partnership, which he himself has been speaking in favour of," said the agency's interviewee.
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