Carnegie Moscow Center
At the top of Secretary Clinton's agenda during her visit to Russia is a discussion of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Conflicting messages from President Medvedev and Foreign Minister Lavrov leave the outcome of that discussion in doubt.
The key to success in the security field is not a combination of individual players like the G20, but rather sustainable joint leadership working together in tailor-made coalitions.
Secretary Clinton travels to Russia to discuss nuclear disarmament, Iran, Afghanistan, and human rights. The United States has made a good beginning with the Russian leadership, but the relationship is still fragile.
Russia and the United States are not likely to come to agreement on the best way to approach Iran’s nuclear ambitions any time soon. This issue is likely to be at the top of Secretary Clinton’s agenda during her time in Moscow.
Russia retains interests throughout the post-Soviet regions, but Moscow’s considerable influence is no longer dominant.
In his first major foreign policy address, NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, presented the basis for a new strategic partnership with Russia, laying out the specific areas where practical cooperation could be extended.
When Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary-general, addresses an audience at Carnegie Europe on Friday, 18th September, he will speak about the possibility of a new dialogue between two former foes – NATO and Russia. Dmitri Trenin suggests that these discussions could initially take place through the NATO-Russia Council of 2002, but in time, that they might spawn a new framework altogether.
By pursuing its own distinct foreign policy, Russia is isolating itself from the rest of the world. A continuation of these policies will leave Russia with only weak, opportunistic ties to the global community.
Nuclear-weapon states should commission their defense ministries and think tanks to perform serious analysis on the practical steps of moving towards zero nuclear weapons.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's new Secretary-General, must provide transformational leadership, not just status-quo management, for the alliance to bridge the chasm between its ambitions and its capacities.