Carnegie Moscow Center
Civil society development in Russia faces a great number of problems. Civil society exists, but it is fragmentary and divided and existing spaces for dialogue with the state have notable limits.
European and Russian experts discuss the key issues affecting Russia-Europe relations.
Following consultations which began in September 2009, the NATO-appointed Group of Experts chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, presented its findings on the Alliance’s future to NATO Secretary General Rasmussen and members of the North Atlantic Council on May 17th.
The rivalry between the two parties in the U.S. Congress today has become so acute that it is effectively freezing productive relations at all levels of power, causing inevitable damage to the country’s security and foreign policy.
The reset represents a substantive change in U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-Russian relations, not just a rhetorical shift. It is an effort to move ahead in search of solutions to vital security concerns.
The signing of the new START treaty is the most tangible result of the U.S.-Russian relations reset to date. More important than the treaty itself, however, are the opportunities that it opens up for closer cooperation in other areas.
Nuclear weapons are again at the forefront of U.S.-Russian relations. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) agreement has been signed, but its ratification still faces opposition in both Russia and the United States.
Russia is already doing much to help the alliance in its struggle against the Taliban insurgency, yet there is a growing feeling in the West that Moscow could be playing a more decisive role in Afghanistan.
Two potentially conflicting imperatives drive Barack Obama’s nuclear agenda. On the one hand, he has called for a world free of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, he believes that the United States needs credible nuclear deterrence.
The most crucial areas for U.S.-Russia relations in 2010 include cooperation on Afghanistan and Iran, future developments in Georgia and Ukraine, and discussions of a new European security system inclusive of Russia.