Article
James F. Collins
Source: Getty
Article
Obama and the Moscow Summit: A Job Well Done
U.S. President Barack Obama made a good start at resetting the relationship with Russia in his first visit to Moscow. He now has to ensure that the American side follows-up on his openings and insist that his colleague in Moscow does the same.
Published on Jul 9, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama made a good start at resetting the relationship with Russia in his first visit to Moscow.
He made concrete progress on important agenda items. The agreement on strategic arms, measures to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, broadening cooperation on Afghanistan, and reestablishing a substantive exchange between the U.S. and Russian military take the agenda he and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev agreed upon in London a significant step forward. No less important is that the presidents agreed to a structure to oversee the future relations and took personal responsibility for the work of that institution.
Obama also carried his "vision of the possible" to the Russian people more broadly. The speech at the New Economic School was addressed to the coming generation and spoke to exactly the right points. We shall have to see whether the Russian people, particularly a quite cynical younger generation, listened. But Obama’s points about the young taking responsibility for a 21st century agenda and making the decisions that will shape it was on target. He effectively combined the sense of America committed to certain principles in a new era with a challenge to new Russia's emerging leaders to join us in tackling an agenda of the future.
Obama was not drawn into the games and shenanigans that occupy observers trying to figure out who really has power in Russia.
Finally, Obama also managed the complex Russian leadership effectively and appropriately. He avoided any hint of playing to one of the leaders in Moscow and spoke effectively to the totality of the Russian leadership. He was, in short, not drawn into the games and shenanigans that occupy observers trying to figure out who really has power in Russia.
The outcome of the visit will now turn on how well it is followed-up. The two presidents set down a number of principles to guide key negotiations between Russia and the United States. They opened significant opportunities to be exploited to advance their ambitious agenda and strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. If these opportunities are successfully and effectively followed-up, even those areas where there clearly was no meeting of the minds and where significant differences remain will be easier to manage over time.
The structure created to manage relations offers an institutional venue to address problems.
In this regard, negotiations over the follow-on to START have a solid foundation but will continue to face difficult issues. The development of greater cooperation on Afghanistan appears promising. Differences over Iran, missile defense, European security systems, etc. remain, but it is constructive that these issues were discussed, some agreement to joint exploration of options appears to have emerged, and the channels of communication on these issues are open. No less significantly, the structure created to manage relations offers an institutional venue to address problems as they arise in these areas.
In sum, President Obama should be satisfied that he made significant progress. He now has to ensure that the American side follows-up on his openings and insist that his colleague in Moscow does the same.
About the Author
James F. Collins
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program; Diplomat in Residence
Ambassador Collins was the U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation from 1997 to 2001 and is an expert on the former Soviet Union, its successor states, and the Middle East.
- Daunting Challenges and Glimmers of Hope in Ukraine
- The Game Changer: Cooperative Missile DefenseCommentary
Dmitri Trenin, James F. Collins
Recent Work
Carnegie 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 Endowment for International Peace
- As It Turns 25, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Reflects the New World OrderCommentary
With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.
Temur Umarov
- The Two Key Takeaways From Xi’s Egypt VisitCommentary
Amid celebrations of bilateral ties was a deeper focus on stability in the Middle East.
Amr Hamzawy
- Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?Commentary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- In Russia’s Long Drone ShadowArticle
Moscow is testing Europe’s defenses with drone incursions and could decide to use drones against the continent on a much larger scale once the war in Ukraine pauses. European countries will need Kyiv to help them prepare for such a possibility.
Pavlo Zvenyhorodskyi
- How the Kremlin Turned Tech Whiz-Kid VK Into a Loss-Making State CorporationCommentary
The war in Ukraine and a change in ownership led VK to neglect its commercial ventures in favor of implementing the Kremlin’s online agenda. Now it’s been sanctioned by the EU.
Maria Kolomychenko
