Remember those halcyon days - like last Thursday - back when lots of people thought that the United States and Russia were on the brink of diplomatic breakthrough? The Obama administration appeared perfectly willing to ditch the Polish and Czech missile proposal for a joint system located in Russia, while the Russians opened up their territory for more supply shipments to the conflict in Afghanistan, and some analysts were even speculating that Russia was giving up its quest for superpower status in favor of pragmatic agreements and cooperation.
Well it seems like that's all gone now, and or at least Obama's advisers were informed that there would be no significant deal reached on a START-1 replacement during this visit. Whatever happened, the talk just turned very sour in the final hours before the president's arrival to Moscow. This is probably old news for most readers, but here are the quotes which have set the tone for a disappointing summit coming up this next week. From the Financial Times:
In a television interview before his meetings with Mr Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, Mr Obama said: "It's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev, Putin understands that the old cold-war approach to US-Russian relations is outdated, that it's time to move forward in a different direction.
"I think Medvedev understands that; I think Putin has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
Mr Putin hit back, saying it was the US that was stuck in the cold war, having failed to fulfil promises to repeal the Jackson-Vannick amendment, trade legislation linked to the emigration of Soviet Jews. "We cannot stand with our legs apart," he said. "We are standing firmly on our feet and we always look to the future." But Mr Putin added he was looking forward to meeting Mr Obama, not wishing to let the odd insult spoil the summit.
Putin's answer is understandable, and actually, quite OK -- the kind of proud answer you'd expect if someone criticized him in the way Obama did (just for comparison, what would Lukashenka have said? Or Saakashvili?). The final note about not wanting to let the odd insult spoil the talks also sounds rather gentlemanly, which is good.
All in all, what Putin is saying is simply 'I don't accept your criticism; I know what I'm doing' -- which is exactly what should be expected.
So I think nothing has changed, and everything remains as before: not very much hope of a breakthrough, just two leaders getting a feel for each other and then going back to their respective jobs.
Apparently, there are those in the Obama Administration who feel that Putin's outreach to the US after 9-11, and efforts to facilitate US operations in Afghanistan subsequently, were nothing more than "Cold War thinking".
So this smear directed at Putin is nothing to be suprised at, and Putin indeed handled it well.
The French expression for Putin's answer is :
" Je reste droit dans mes bottes " ; ( I stand firm straight in my boots ! ")
I don't think it was "smear" -- Putin does indeed have one foot in the old way of doing things (authoritarian, Power Vertical, oligarchs, etc.). His answer is understandable, but it is not correct. He is defending himself, just as any politician does -- even when s/he is wrong.
Obama has given an interview to Novaya Gazeta and he plans to meet with Nemtsov and Kasparov. Oops. Looks like American moral leadership on Russia is back to stay.
http://larussophobe.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/special-extra-obama-speaks-to-novaya-gazeta/
Once again, Putin's total failure has been laid bare. He has provoked and alienated the world's most powerful nation along with the rest of the planet (save for Iran, Syria, Venezulea and the other rogue states) and now he's going to face the music. His foreign policy failure is as complete a disaster as his domestic economic and social policy.
Phoby, Phoby, Phoby...
Once again Phoby reveals herself as utterly clueless. Russia wisely relies on the US for nothing, for the 1990s showed that nothing is the best that the US will ever do for Russia. And while he was president, Mr. Putin arranged matters so that the US can do nothing harmful to Russia without harming the US as well.
The Russian government are entirely prepared for whichever eventuality President Obama prefers, friendship or hostility.
And if Phoby wants to see what comprehesive political, social, and economic failure looks like, she should have a look at Western-backed Orange Ukraine. 20% GNP decline in a year....