Russia's View of the Reset

Ahead of US President, Barack Obama, meeting his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in Washington on June 24, Moscow-based analysts have considered the progress of the “reset.” In two recent articles in Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, Sergey Rogov, Director of the USA and Canada Institute assessed the evolution of US-Russian relations. Although he concluded that the “window of opportunity” is open, he implied that the relationship remains virtual rather than real: “If the achievements of the past year are successfully nailed down and serious progress is made in new spheres, the Russian-American partnership can finally turn from declarations into reality” (Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, June 11). However, as Rogov traced the achievements of the “reset,” it is worth noting that his conceptual approach was to firmly blame Washington for previous problems in bilateral ties.

In Rogov’s view, since the mid-1990’s, Washington had presented Moscow with a fait accomplis at the latter’s expense. NATO enlargement, unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty, efforts to weaken Russian influence within the CIS, and unilateral use of military force contrary to international law, were examples of US unwillingness to build constructive relations with Russia. Rogov “overlooked” any instances of Russian foreign and security policy contributing to such difficulties. Proceeding from this stance, he delineated six achievements in the “reset,” to date: