[Obama in Moscow] Not a Full Reset but a Definite Re-Start

By Roman Kolosovskiy, Intern, The PBN Company, Moscow

President Obama’s trip to Moscow was billed as a milestone in US-Russia relations - there would be none of the Bush-era soul searching, but rather a chance to find pragmatic, common ground on pressing global issues like nuclear arms and Iran. Meetings were held and hands were shaken, but what is clear now that the dust has settled is that the US president has not aroused the same level of “Obamania” behind him in Moscow as he has elsewhere in the world.

As the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said in a television interview, the summit was “groundbreaking” in that the United States and Russia “managed to stop the degradation of our relations,” which is a subtle, but key distinction from a wholesale “reset.”

Nevertheless, Presidents Obama and Medvedev had a constructive meeting. The leaders seem to have hit it off in a way that bodes well for a positive working relationship, with Medvedev telling Interfax that he “like[s] talking with Barack.” The tone of the conversation was honest and went beyond exchanging pleasantries, which shows that the two leaders, who share a strong legal background, are serious about establishing a constructive bilateral relationship.

Despite the attention that Obama gave his Russian counterpart, it was the US president’s working breakfast with Prime Minister Putin that Russians saw as the crux of the visit and as a litmus test for the tone of future relations. The Russian media rather relished the idea of Obama, scheduled for a ninety-minute discussion, receiving a two-hour lecture from Putin over possibly contraband caviar and blinis.

Following the meeting Obama told Fox News that Putin was “tough, smart, shrewd, very unsentimental, very pragmatic,” but that “on areas where we disagree, like Georgia, I don’t anticipate a meeting of minds anytime soon.” From Russia’s perspective, these comments indicate a victory of sorts - an acceptance of the fact that Russia is solidifying its position in the world and that the US is willing to work with a strengthened Russia.

The other key element of Obama’s trip was a speech at the New Economic School, which the Americans promoted as a major foreign policy speech along the lines of his show-stopping addresses in Prague and Cairo. In the speech, Obama sought to speak directly to the Russian people with flattering words about the influence of Russian culture in the US and expressing general goodwill toward Russians as he outlined US positions. The audience reaction was mixed - many were impressed by Obama’s charisma and oratory, but there was also a pervasive skepticism. The speech had limited impact outside of the auditorium as only excerpts were broadcasted in state-run television stations (Vesti, the private television station, did run the speech in its entirety).

That being said, progress was undoubtedly made during the two-day visit, but it is certainly clear that US-Russian relations cannot be reset at the push of a button. The process will take time and it will not be easy - but Russians recognize that it has definitely started. Wary of US overtures, Russians are now willing to give the new administration the benefit of the doubt. The nuclear armament reductions agreed upon at the summit serve as a largely symbolic but important step forward. But with major issues like missile defense, Iran’s nuclear program and the Russia-Georgia war still clouding the air, the true test of this newfound goodwill is still to come.

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