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A NEW REALISM IN THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MOSCOW AND WASHINGTON

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The Montreal Review, July, 2010

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There is a new realism in the relationships between Moscow and Washington, Konstantin Sonin says in a column for The Moscow Times. Sonin, who is a professor at the New Economic School in Moscow, says that one year after the president Obama's visit in Moscow both countries have found a new type of foreign politics that seems equally beneficial for both sides. Obama's Administration in the United States indicated that its policy towards Russia would be neither hostile nor friendly, but pragmatic. The responsibility for the American attitude to Russia would be in the hands of Kremlin. If Russia desires close relationships with the U.S. they would get them, if not, the relationships would stay cold.

Sonin says that Washington puts the Russians in unusual situation. Russian policy toward the United States has always been purely reactive, he says. In the past, the United States gave the course, and Russia responded to it. But with the new policy this tradition will change. Russia is not accustomed with so much responsibility, thinks Sonin, but for his "surprise" Kremlin apparently took Obama's message seriously. For the past year, Moscow has not issued any antagonistic political initiatives and, at the same time, its policy toward Washington has become more realistic.

 

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