In the runup to the first face-to-face meeting between Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, expectations are running high in both Moscow and Washington that the meeting will finally usher in an era of serious constructive engagement in U.S.-Russia relations. Since Obama's inauguration, the atmosphere of the relationship has significantly improved.
On Jan. 29, Medvedev sent Obama a six-page letter outlining Russia's readiness to engage the United States on the entire global agenda -- from nuclear cuts to Afghanistan and North Korea. Obama responded on Feb. 9 with a less profusely worded but equally constructive message signaling the new U.S. resolve to engage Russia that Vice President Joseph Biden made public with his "hitting the reset button" speech in Munich.
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