For Clinton, dinner with Russian minister is first test
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Friday she hopes her first discussion with her Russian counterpart will begin a new era in US-Russian relations without raising doubts about American support for European allies.
The meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva will provide an early test of the Obama administration's hopes for a new direction in US foreign policy.
Clinton's session with Lavrov is aimed at advancing President Barack Obama's effort to put US-Russian relations on a more positive track with a package of proposals, including accelerated arms control talks and an appeal for help in stopping Iran's nuclear program.
The full scope of the US approach to Russia has not been worked out, but the Geneva session is a chance to prepare for improved relations on numerous fronts after years of friction and only modest diplomatic progress during the Bush administration.
In a question-and-answer session on Friday with several hundred young professionals at the European Parliament, Clinton emphasized her hope for improved ties with Russia, but said disagreements are inevitable. She cited as an example Washington's condemnation of Moscow's decision last August to invade neighboring Georgia.
"We also are very troubled by using energy as a tool of intimidation," she added, referring to a Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter. And she said, "We don't want there to be any misunderstanding" among Europeans that the US will remain a dependable ally regardless of relations with Moscow.
The Geneva session will prepare the ground for Obama's first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, at an economic summit in England in April.
Obama has exchanged letters with Medvedev outlining his intentions for improving relations, stirring speculation he might scrap plans to build missile defense bases in eastern Europe if Russia helps pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear program. Russia has protested the missile shield plan and threatened to build its own system of defensive missiles.
To a large degree, the emerging Obama approach to Russia is similar to his predecessor's, with the significant exception of arms control. Last year Russia and the US agreed on a framework for pursing areas of cooperation in terrorism, drug trafficking and others areas.
But a sticking point - then and now - is the proposed missile defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Agencies
(China Daily 03/07/2009 page11)
