Carnegie Moscow Center
Two years since fighting broke out between Georgia and Russia, the situation in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains deadlocked and the current western policy of strong rhetorical support for the Georgian position substitutes easy words for hard diplomatic work.
The Russian government’s drive to modernize its economy is increasingly reflected in its foreign policy priorities, including its relations with the United States, Europe, and China and its position on Iran's nuclear program.
The New START is relatively modest in scope and should not be used as a stand-in for an ideological contest over arms control and nonproliferation.
Missile-defense cooperation would be a potential game changer in U.S.-Russian and NATO-Russian relations and a crucial step toward a sounder European security order.
The modest, verifiable reductions set out in New START do not raise hard questions about the adequacy of the U.S. deterrent. Instead, ratifying the treaty is integral to the Obama administration's overall security agenda and very much in the U.S. national interest.
The bloodshed on the ceasefire line should focus minds and be a reminder that a new conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh would be catastrophic for everyone, not just Armenians and Azeris.
When he met with President Obama in Washington, Russian President Medvedev’s chief goals were to continue the trend of the reset in U.S.-Russian relations and to further his domestic modernization and economic development initiative.
While the focus of the meeting between Russian President Medvedev and U.S. President Obama will be on economic and technological cooperation, major security issues—including Iran sanctions, the U.S.–Russian civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, and arms control—will also be on the agenda.
Modern Russian must overcome a number of internal and external pressures in the course of its struggle to determine its role in the changing global community.
Three simple steps can help reassure the American people that their elected officials have their security interests foremost in mind as they debate the merits of the new START and set high standards for future U.S. policy and treaty deliberations.