U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century
February 14, 2014鈥擱ussia鈥檚 attempt to win its own 鈥済eopolitical gold medal鈥� after winning the rights to host the 2014 Olympics is failing, according to Professor Angela Stent, author of .
鈥淯.S.-Russian relations are at their lowest level since Russia became an independent nation in 1991,鈥� said Stent, a 2004鈥�06 national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council. Stent is a professor in the and the , and she also served as an advisor on U.S.-Russian relations to former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Her book was recently published by Princeton University Press.
鈥淭he objective [after winning the rights] was to show that Russia was back from the chaos and weakness of the 1990s,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭here have been four efforts to reset鈥攊mprove relations鈥攕ince 1991. In each case, high hopes have given way to disillusionment and distrust.鈥�
Stent says Russia is sending a much different message as the Olympics begin and 鈥渄efining itself as a unique civilization, different from the West, with different values.鈥�
鈥淭hat message has become garbled in its execution,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith hotels incomplete and facilities still under construction, Sochi also demonstrates the challenges Russia faces鈥攆rom inadequate infrastructure to corruption,鈥� she continued.
Stent, who also directs Georgetown鈥檚 , says the last effort at resetting U.S.-Russian relations began at the beginning of the Obama administration in 2009.
鈥淏ut relations hit bottom when Russia gave asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden in 2013, and Obama, in turn, canceled a long-planned summit meeting with [President Vladimir] Putin,鈥� she explained.
Stent wrote in a recent about a 2007 dinner at President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 Sochi mansion. Putin said hosting the 2014 Olympics was 鈥渧ital proof that Russia was back and that he had restored his country to its rightful role in the world.鈥�
This objective鈥攔estoring Russia鈥檚 great power status鈥攈as been a driver of his foreign policy, she emphasizes in The Limits of Partnership.
鈥淩ealism, not resets, [is] what鈥檚 required for U.S.-Russian relations,鈥� Stent explained. 鈥淭he differences will remain across a host of issues, including on the current upheaval unfolding in Ukraine. For Russia, Ukraine is almost a domestic issue. But the two countries have a host of common issues where they need to find common interests鈥攆rom Iran and Syria, to terrorism.鈥�
The Limits of Partnership, informed by extensive personal discussions with former and current Russian and American officials and annual meetings with Putin, calls for a fundamental reassessment of the principles and practices that drive the U.S.-Russia relationship.
The bottom line of the current U.S.-Russia relationship may lie in a quote from Putin in the book on his relationship with Barack Obama:
鈥淚 don鈥檛 agree with his arguments and he doesn鈥檛 agree with mine.鈥�