- +2
Judy Dempsey, Alexander Gabuev, Rose Gottemoeller, …
{
"authors": [
"Rose Gottemoeller"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "russia",
"programs": [
"Russia and Eurasia"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"South America",
"Caucasus",
"Russia",
"Georgia"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Economy",
"Security",
"Military",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
Russia's Charm Offensive
Russia and Venezuela commence joint naval exercises this week, coming on the heels of Russian President Medvedev’s four-nation tour of South America. Though Russia’s recent closeness with U.S. neighbors may be an attempt to challenge U.S. regional primacy, the United States should avoid over-reacting.
Source: C-SPAN's Washington Journal

Gottemoeller explained that Russia’s decision to send ships to South America is likely a reaction to the presence of U.S. naval ships in the Black Sea delivering humanitarian aid during the August crisis in Georgia. In addition, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez – who has industriously built up his country’s relations with Russia in recent years in an attempt to challenge the United States – may have played a role in formulating the tour and naval exercises. The Bush administration has so far reacted appropriately, in Gottemoeller’s assessment; although the presence of Russian ships in America’s backyard is symbolically potent, Russia’s aging navy is not a threat to the United States, and the administration’s reaction reflects that.
About the Author
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program
Rose Gottemoeller is a nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program. She also serves as lecturer at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Ambassador Gottemoeller served as the deputy secretary general of NATO from 2016 to 2019.
- The Spectacular Rise of the “Bad Boys” of NATO During the Ukraine CrisisQ&A
Recent Work
Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie India
- AI in Outer Space: Opportunities, Risks, and the Governance GapCommentary
How is AI reshaping space security, creating governance challenges, and where does international diplomacy stand today?
Tejas Bharadwaj, Almudena Azcárate Ortega
- Threading the Needle: India’s Path Forward with ChinaPaper
After the chill in ties between 2020 and 2024 that brought India–China relations to their lowest point in several decades, the two countries have engaged each other afresh. This paper argues that there are predominantly four imperatives guiding India’s approach to China, and they exist in an order of priority.
Saheb Singh Chadha
- Managing Divergence: India’s BRICS Presidency in 2026Article
This piece argues that India’s central challenge is not managing a single flashpoint but resolving the underlying tension between expansion and institutional coherency of the BRICS grouping.
Vrinda Sahai
- India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible PathwaysArticle
A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.
Rajiv Bhatia
- The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor CooperationCommentary
The U.S.–India semiconductor cooperation story is well-stocked with top-level strategic intent. What remains unresolved, however, are some underlying challenges that will determine whether the cooperation actually functions. Three such friction points stand out.
Shruti Mittal