Carnegie Moscow Center
U.S. reactions to President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed article in the New York Times, from outrage to ridicule, show just how badly much of the Western policy elite are misinterpreting Russia.
Russia’s chemical weapons plan will require a serious re-launch of the political process in Syria.
The main goal of Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in the New York Times is to force the United States back into the U.N. Security Council-centered international system.
Though Putin purported to oppose any attempt to hijack the economic agenda of the G-20, he succeeded in setting the stage for a critical debate on U.S. foreign policy with the global leaders.
During the G20 summit, the world leaders need to tackle serious economic challenges. At the same time, the abrupt halt to a scheduled U.S.-Russia summit and a potential intervention in Syria have pushed security issues to the top of the summit’s agenda.
A strike against the Syrian government continues to look likely. What is less certain is what kind of strike, with what aims and what sort of strategy, and whether such a strike would put the Syrian conflict onto a truly regional level.
U.S. President Barack Obama’s cancellation of the summit with Vladimir Putin is a turning point in U.S.-Russia relations. Obama, who once told the Russians he would be more flexible after the elections, has proven to be the opposite.
From Vladimir Putin’s perspective, U.S. policies in the Middle East since the beginning of the Arab Awakening have been misguided, unprincipled, and dangerous, and Washington’s record of prognostication and intervention has been abysmal.
The Kremlin appears to have found its distinct international role. It is based on conservative nationalism; support for traditional international law with its emphasis on national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of states; and a strong preference for evolutionary path of development over revolutionary upheavals.
Putin will make it clear again that Russian domestic politics is off limits to Washington. By the time Obama arrives for his scheduled visit to Moscow, Snowden will have left the airport, and be silent.