“Too early to speak about turning point” in US-Russia relations

The US decision to shelve AMD shield plans in Europe is “a very positive step... but we have to wait and see what happens next,” said Aleksandr Pikaev of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.

Pikaev believes that the Obama administration did not make this decision to abandon its AMD plans because of Russia.

“America’s own political dynamics has little to do with US-Russia relations,” he said.

Speaking on the reaction from Washington’s allies in Eastern Europe, Aleksandr Pikaev noted it was very nervous, and even “hysterical”:

“I think that some Eastern European governments would use this decision to gain something else from the Americans. They would pedal on Russia’s aggressiveness, or similar arguments, in order to get an increase in American military presence on their territory.”

And if they succeed in getting what they want, he added, the present important decision not to deploy the AMD shield in Eastern Europe could potentially transform into another irritant in US-Russia relations.

Ironically, Iran may not be happy to hear this news about the change in US policy.

“Iran is very nervous, maybe like Eastern Europeans, about any improvements [in the relations] between the US and Russia. In the past months, Iran even made some steps deliberately aimed at creating problems for the US-Russian dialogue,” Pikaev told RT.

The political scientist recalls that Iran even launched missiles once, one day before a round of consultations between the United States and Russia. However, in his opinion, this country has nothing to worry about.

“Iran should not be disappointed, because there is no more zero sum game in the 21st century, and the better the US-Russia relations are, the better it is for Eastern Europeans, and the better it is for Iranians,” Pikaev concluded.