Carnegie Moscow Center
The new START agreement that President Obama and President Medvedev will sign in Prague on April 8 provides concrete and tangible progress in bilateral relations and addresses the biggest existential threat the United States faces—Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
When President Medvedev and President Obama sign the new START agreement in Prague on April 8, they should emphasize their common interest in nuclear disarmament and make the ratification process another step in the positive resetting of relations.
When the Middle East Quartet meets in Moscow, they will most likely devote their time to looking for ways to influence the parties involved rather than trying to settle the actual conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Clinton leaves for Moscow for a Quartet meeting on efforts to revive Israeli–Palestinian peace talks. She will also meet with President Medvedev to address the bilateral agenda, not least the successor agreement to START and Iran's nuclear program.
Given the reset in U.S.–Russian relations, the time is ripe for the United States, Europe, and Russia to devise a security architecture for a new century—one capable of maintaining peace and stability on the European continent throughout the years to come.
The conditions in Russia and the state of U.S.-Russia relations today are more hopeful for positive cooperation than at any time in the recent past, particularly in the fields of technology and innovation.
While Russian leaders support the idea of a world free of nuclear weapons in theory, the Russian security community is still committed to the principle of nuclear deterrence.
A treaty to replace the expired START agreement is an essential step not only toward global nuclear disarmament, but also toward managing the risks associated with Russia's nuclear arsenal, which still poses the single greatest existential threat to the United States.
Rather than focus on preserving its status as a great power, Russia’s foreign policy should aim toward comprehensive modernization. Cooperation with Europe will be crucial to achieving that goal.
Russia’s accession to the WTO—which would benefit both Russia and the global trading system—has been stalled since June. To move forward, Russia must clarify its accession plan and prove its commitment to the WTO.