Carnegie Moscow Center
Solutions to the challenges facing the global community require sharing fresh ideas about politics, economics, social issues, migration and ethnic conflict, religion, and education.
Mitt Romney’s tour of Great Britain, Poland, and Israel is unlikely to change the U.S. presidential campaign’s pace because the economy, not the foreign policy, is the main issue in the campaign.
Part of Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria stems from Putin's desire to use Russian foreign policy as an instrument for preserving his own power and trying to block the United States.
Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization remains a controversial issue in the country. It will not necessarily bring an end to trade disputes with the EU, but is likely to advance the establishment of a free trade zone and the signing of a new cooperation agreement.
The development of a NATO-Russia joint missile defense system is not currently viable, primarily because of political constraints and a lack of trust between the two sides.
Nuclear nonproliferation will only be successful if the Nuclear Five, especially the United States and Russia, set an example for the rest of the world by fulfilling their pledges to pursue disarmament.
The recent meeting between Putin and Obama has resulted in an increase in Putin’s self-confidence, his attempt to pressure the United States, and Obama’s aspiration not to aggravate relations with the Kremlin.
If United States and Russia fail to collaborate on urgent global issues, it could enhance the two countries’ mutual alienation, allow regional crises to run unabated, and even lead to a reconfiguration of the world’s strategic landscape.
In case of unobstructed civil war in Syria, the division between Russian and U.S. policies toward Syria will most probably deepen, and the choices of these two countries will have serious international implications, including stronger Russia-China cooperation to counter U.S. foreign policies.
Russian liberals are increasingly critical of the West as Western countries pursue a pragmatic foreign policy that often helps the Kremlin legitimize its rule.