Russia and the U.S. at their closest in years
Published: 08 May, 2009, 01:05
TAGS: G8, Russia, Politics, USA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has just finished meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.
Earlier during a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Hillary Clinton, the two agreed that the main task for both countries is raising their relationship to the next level.
The discussion with Clinton, which covered a number of long-lasting, thorny issues like missile defense in Europe and nuclear non-proliferation, still proved to be “productive”, according to the Russian Foreign Minister.
Hillary Clinton also praised the results of the meeting, saying Russia and the U.S. need to concentrate on cooperation rather than disputes. One of the particularly hopeful areas, according to Clinton, is nuclear non-proliferation.
“We are committed and looking forward. It is, I think, old thinking to say we have a disagreement in one area and therefore we shouldn’t work on something else. If you look at what we’re doing in non-proliferation, that has to do with the future safety of the world, and the United States and Russia bear special responsibility. So we are working very hard together.”
Moscow and Washington have agreed on new moves to lower the chances of nuclear proliferation.“Russia and the U.S., as the largest nuclear states, must head the non-proliferation work, setting an example for others,” Lavrov said.
The sides have also exchanged opinions on the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Iran.
“We have unilateral sanctions against Iran adopted by the U.S. and the European Union, in addition to UN sanctions. We don’t think these are helping to achieve our common goal in Iran and we’re telling our partners that these unilateral sanctions are hindering our common efforts there,” Lavrov said.
During the talks, a date for a meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama has been set. It will be announced within a few days.
The Russian Foreign Minister expressed hope that barriers to resuming work at the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) will be eliminated in the near future and that “this important structure will resume its work on the basis of the principles that were agreed on when it was created”.
Apart from this, Washington and Moscow plan cooperating on problems related to the Arctic territory, fighting piracy, and recovering from the ongoing global financial crisis.
08.05.2009, 00:18
“Together Russia and U.S. can change the international climate” – expertThe executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, Daryl Kimball, joined RT to talk about Russo-American cooperation. |
08.05.2009, 06:38
“Arms control issue will get the most attention in the near term” – expertCharles Kupchan - a Senior Fellow for Europe Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations – shares his view on Russo-American relations with RT. |
This is good news, and this is the way it must be. Practical, sensible adult dicussions with the US, in a business like fashion. Yes there will be disagreements. The US is engaged in illegal invasions, torture, political imprisonment and the sponsorship of terrorism. However, the US and Russia are correct to work in areas of common interest. Russia has always been practical, and is able to deal with misbehaving states. The important thing for the US and Russia, as Clinton proposed, is to work on world safety and security. Russia and the US have a right to be safe, we both know this will reduce tensions, it will have benefits to both of us. For Russia, it allows us to focus on commercial endeavors. For the US it allows them to feel safer and thus be able to morally reform, moving away from having the level of fear, which is driving their international misbehaviour and driving their worldwide aggression. Once we get the security issues, settled, such that Russia and the US, acquire a verifiable status quo again, with the security of both secured. Then we are both free to concentrate on other things. As the US defence secretary Gates sensibly said, many times, the US and Russia have spent years avoiding war, and this will continue. This is the maturity, that is needed from both sides. Yes we must both make strong robust deterrence systems; doing this, is an enabler to closer working and cooperation, in a much more paractical and safe manner, on the real broader issues in the world, agreeing where we can agree, and disagreeing where we can't. All this in an environment of safety and security for both of our nations. So this is a good start, yes we in Russia, need to improve our deterrence and this is well under way. We have also opened a good dialogue with the US, based on the sound initiatives of Medvedev, Obamma, Lavrov and Clinton. Defence has to be necessary and sufficient for both nations. So once we get to this stage of mutual security, we can engage further in a more friendly fashion, and move on to other more constructive areas. With Russia being the largest country in the world, basically self sufficient, our goal is just to secure our borders and ensure national security. Once this is done, it is a real mission accomplished for us. The US has other issues, that it needs to deal with, and to allow it the breathing space it needs, to address these issues, it needs a stable relationship and security guarantee. So again, a good first step, in restoring a pragmatic, sensible, level headed relationship between our nations. A relationship that needs to exist, in order to guarantee peace to both of our peoples. There are other steps required in the future, such as reduction in tensions in border and close proximity regions (the Cuba factor), however step by step we can move forward to a more safe and secure environment for both nations.