04 March 2008
U.S. Expects Constructive Relationship with New Russian Leader
Despite democracy concerns, common interests span globe, say officials
Washington -- The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Russia and Russian President-elect Dmitri Medvedev, U.S. officials say.
“It's in our mutual interest for Russia and the United States to work together on areas of common interest such as nonproliferation, counterterrorism and combating transnational crime,” White House deputy press secretary Gordon Johndroe said March 3.
Medvedev, who received 70 percent of the March 2 vote, will take office on May 7, when he is expected to name outgoing President Vladimir Putin as prime minister. Appearing with Putin later at a rock concert in Moscow's Red Square celebrating his victory, Medvedev pledged to continue on the political path charted by Putin.
Election observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reported that unfair access for all presidential candidates to the state-owned broadcast media called into question the overall fairness of the vote. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe declined to send observers, citing restrictions imposed by Russian authorities, which OSCE officials said would prevent its monitors from operating effectively.
The United States publicly and privately has discussed the state of democracy in Russia with Moscow officials, says State Department spokesman Tom Casey. “I don't think those concerns were in any way changed by these elections.”
But Casey also said that while Medvedev declined to debate his challengers, he addressed the many challenges facing Russia during his brief campaign, including expanding personal freedoms, strengthening the rule of law, confronting corruption and improving living standards for citizens living across the country's 11 time zones.
Johndroe said that President Bush read Medvedev's recent remarks with interest and discussed them briefly when he called the Russian president-elect March 4.
“We hope going forward that he will turn those rhetorical commitments into action,” Casey said.
STRONG U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS IMPORTANT, SAYS BUSH
At a recent White House press conference, Bush highlighted the critical nature of the U.S.-Russian partnership.
“It's important for stability. It's important for our relations in Europe,” Bush said. "And therefore my advice is to establish a personal relationship with whoever is in charge of foreign policy in Russia. It's in our country's interest to do so.”
Russia plays a central role in many peacemaking initiatives -- from the U.N. Security Council, to the Quartet for Middle East Peace, the “P5+1” urging Iran to suspend its nuclear program and the Six-Party Talks on North Korea. Bush said Russia shares with the United States significant concerns about terrorism, the spread of nuclear materials, transnational crime and illicit trafficking in narcotics and people.
But that does not mean that Washington and Moscow cannot face differences constructively as well, Bush said, citing disagreements over a U.S.-sponsored plan to promote a Europe-based missile defense shield and Kosovo's February 17 declaration of independence.
“As you know, Putin is a straightforward, pretty tough character when it comes to his interests. Well, so am I,” Bush said. “Yet, in spite of that, our differences of opinion, we still have got a cordial enough relationship to be able to deal with common threats and opportunities. And that's going to be important for the next president to maintain.”
