Kremlin
Must Take 'Full Advantage' of Obama's Presence
"This
requires a deliberate policy on the part of Russian authorities to fight
anti-American sentiment within national public opinion, political culture,
media and the expert-elite community."
The
anniversary of Barack Obama's presidency has become a significant event in
international life. All over the world, people discuss the results of his first
year as the head of the most powerful country, his loss of support of almost a
third of Americans, and the question of whether President Hope hasn't
turned into President Disappointment. Indeed, Obama's job is now
extremely difficult, his political capital rapidly dissipating, pressure from a
Republican Party that is quickly reasserting itself is growing, and the number
of problems facing him is not diminishing.
But one
shouldn’t be too pessimistic in assessing the American president's current
situation. First, as a rule, world leaders usually experience a period of
significant decline in the level of public support at the onset of their second
year in power. One can even recall Vladimir Putin's ratings at the time, when
he transitioned from the great expectations of the presidential campaign to the
disappointing reality. Secondly, support for Obama isn't insignificant,
especially considering that America is fighting two wars on foreign soil, going
through a formidable economic crisis and undertaking a number of systematic and
painful reforms.
The victory
of Republican candidate Scott Brown in the Massachusetts election (to replace
the late Edward Kennedy) deprived the Democratic Party of a qualified majority
of 60 votes in the Senate, and dealt a severe blow to the positions of the president's
party in Congress, weakening his prospects for enacting his policies. However,
this is a restoration of normalcy for the balance of powering the American
political system, which doesn't favor any political party and drives them to
seek compromise. This is its healthiest and most efficient condition. For
Obama, the most important problem is now the search for his new spot on the
U.S. political spectrum, since the anti-Bush sentiment that assured his victory
a year ago is no longer synonymous with a mandate for unchecked liberalism. His
presidential potential within the country will now depend on how successfully
he resolves the problem of bringing along his political base.
In foreign
policy, society's main issue of concern continues to be security. Obama, as
everyone recalls, promised to maintain the security achieved under his
predecessor but use fundamentally different methods. His reaction to the terrorist
attacks that greatly marred the end of his first year in office showed that so
far, he has been unable to do so.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In the field
of security and foreign policy generally, Obama, in my opinion, is too often
reminiscent of George Bush. From now on, the strength of his political capital
in the global arena will depend on his cooperation with the international
community and whether he can abandon Bush's methods while providing America
with a high degree of security.
Although Russia
is not among the priority countries for the United States, Obama treats it more
than favorably. He has been able to significantly restructure U.S. policy
toward Moscow, from his refusal of an anti-missile defense system that drew
protests from Russia and ending the policy of inducting Georgia and Ukraine
into NATO, to a sharp decrease in criticism on issues of the Kremlin's domestic
policies and human rights. However, it seems to me that for Moscow to expect
Washington to develop a completely new agenda for bilateral relations would be
naive and politically wrong. This is a two-way process.
Moscow
itself should take full advantage of the American leader's desire to reboot
relations between the two countries. Russia undoubtedly needs good, stable and
full relations with the United States, based on the maximum equality possible
in this situation. Moscow needs this much more than Washington does. Obama's
presence in the White House has created political conditions that Moscow must
take advantage of, primarily to once and for all, institutionalize relations
with the U.S. and end their fragmentary and tattered format, which has
consisted of endless ad-libs and improvisations.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Second,
Moscow can offer Obama its own version of a bilateral, regional (the post-Soviet
space) and global agenda for discussion; third, it can do everything possible
to create a meaningful economic relationship between the two countries, which
today doesn't factor into U.S. policy at all. Fourth, it can create an
influential Russian platform in Washington to enter the real - and not the imagined
- U.S. political and media space and become an active element in current U.S.
policy and lobbying activities; and fifth, to bring Russian and American civil
society closer, so that each country begins to see the formation of social
groups interested in developing bilateral relations on a regular but
non-governmental basis, etc.
All of this
requires a deliberate policy on the part of Russian authorities to fight anti-American
sentiment within national public opinion, political culture, media and the
expert-elite community. It's important for Moscow to take a stand on defending
its own national strategic interests in its dialogue with Washington, while
understanding that the latter, as always, will steadfastly defend U.S. national
interests. Balance by the two countries in defending their real interests will
not make them enemies, but rather partners and competitors, which will enhance
the role and influence of Russia in the world, including in the space of the
former Soviet Union.
