Carnegie Moscow Center
While it may be morally satisfying for U.S. politicians to criticize Russia, moral outrage without a smart negotiating strategy will do little to advance vital U.S. interests—including democracy and human rights.
If Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is elected, there is reason to worry that bilateral relations between the United States and Russia may become frayed. However, Russia will not be Romney’s foreign policy priority.
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 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.
The Obama administration's policy on Russia is proving to be fairly insignificant in the ongoing U.S. presidential campaigns.