06 March 2009
Analysis: America and Russia “Press the Reset Button”
In Geneva, Clinton seeks new partnership with Moscow
Washington — By “pressing the reset button” on its relations with Russia, America seeks strengthened partnerships on shared global challenges, balanced by open and respectful dialogue on differences. “There’s a lot for us to do together,” says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“We are entering into our renewed relationship with our eyes wide open. And we are going to do everything we can to find as much common ground as possible,” Clinton told a standing-room-only crowd in Brussels March 6 at a town hall meeting sponsored by the European Parliament.
Later in the day, Clinton headed to Geneva for private talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, setting the stage for President Obama’s first official meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev next month on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting of developed and emerging economies in London.
At the opening of her meeting with Lavrov, Clinton presented him with a gift: a small box topped with a red “reset” button to symbolize a new start in U.S.-Russian relations.
“The Obama administration believes that there are a number of important areas to discuss with the Russians,” Clinton told National Public Radio earlier in the day. “We believe that there are a lot of challenges and threats that we have inherited that we have to address, but there are also opportunities.”
Since taking office in January, Obama has exchanged letters and several phone calls with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Vice President Biden continued the conversation on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, pledging to reverse a “dangerous drift” in U.S.-Russian relations. Ties have been strained by Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia and its 2009 energy dispute with Ukraine, as well as Russian concerns about NATO expansion and a proposed European-based missile defense system. (See “Obama Seeks Improved Relations with Russia.”)
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns — a former U.S. ambassador to Russia — recently returned from Moscow, where he met with senior Russian diplomats to develop Clinton’s and Lavrov’s Geneva agenda, which is expected to include a proposal to accelerate renewal of a key U.S.-Russian arms control treaty.
“We have a long list, on both sides, of matters [where] we're going to try to seek some areas of cooperation,” Clinton said in a March 6 BBC interview. “Our efforts against terrorism, our efforts on behalf of arms control and nonproliferation. Discuss areas where we think that we’ve got to understand each other better and try to eliminate the friction.”
Several recent developments illustrate the importance of strong U.S.-Russian cooperation, Clinton said. As members of the Quartet for Middle East Peace with the United Nations and the European Union, Clinton and Lavrov met briefly March 2 at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik during an international donors conference to help rebuild Gaza.
On March 4, U.S. and Russian diplomats met in Vienna with fellow members of the “P5+1” group — China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom — to pledge continued unity in efforts to convince Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment and join international talks. Russian and U.S. officials are also expected to meet in the coming days in Seoul, South Korea, ahead of efforts to restart the Six-Party Talks working to roll back North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
U.S. and Russian naval vessels are currently part of a multinational security patrol against piracy off the coast of Somalia. Russia has also agreed to allow transport of nonmilitary goods to support the 41-nation NATO-led peacekeeping mission working to stabilize Afghanistan — a top Obama administration priority.
On March 5 in Brussels, Clinton joined trans-Atlantic allies to reopen the NATO-Russia Council, which had been suspended in the wake of the Russia-Georgia war. The move underlines the challenge ahead of managing policy differences in a new relationship between Washington and Moscow, Clinton said.
In Brussels, Clinton stressed that a new approach toward Russia will not diminish America’s support for NATO allies, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, or alliance aspirants Georgia and Ukraine. (See “NATO Agrees to Resume High-Level Ties with Russia.”)
“My country strongly condemned Russia’s actions in Georgia. We also are very troubled by using energy as a tool of intimidation,” Clinton said. “Our engagement with Russia in no way undermines our support for countries like Georgia or the Baltics or the Balkans or anywhere else in Europe.”
In Moscow, Foreign Ministry officials said Russia looked forward to the talks “with cautious optimism.”
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