Rosbalt,
US President
George Bush did not even mention Russia
in his recent state of the union address
to the nation.
It seems strange as a substantial portion of the speech was devoted
to international affairs and the
fight against terrorism. The US leader spoke of many countries including some which are hardly
of much importance to the US. For
example, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Salvador all got a mention...
Since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, there
have only been two prior
occasions when Russia was not mentioned in the US president's national address and both
speeches were given by newly
elected presidents who spoke entirely
of national concerns: the first was
given by Bill Clinton in January 1993 and the second was
given by the current president
in January 2001. Yet Russia
was spoken of in some context in all the other
annual addresses.
The high point for Russia
came in January 2000, shortly after the
resignation of Boris Yeltsin in favor of Vladimir Putin, when Bill Clinton mentioned Russia a record eight times. There
were seven references to Russia in 1994 (remember the siege
of parliament in October
1993 and Zhirinovsky's victory in the subsequent parliamentary elections). Russia was mentioned twice
by Clinton in 1995, 1996, 1997 and
1999 but just once by George Bush Sr. in 1992, by Clinton in 1998 and by the
current president in 2002 and 2003.
Some experts believe the current
ostracism of Russia (the US president did not even mention
Russia in the list of countries which have suffered
from terrorism although he was
careful to mention Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and
Turkey) reflects Moscow's weakening role in world affairs, which was aggravated
by Russia's attempt to prevent
the US campaign in Iraq. Observers in Washington also believe there
is growing disappointment
in the US at the way the political
situation in Russia is developing.
Although the Bush administration has taken a far more pragmatic approach to its relations
with Moscow than the Clinton administration, it is clear that Washington is persistently keen to see
Russia become a country of progressive democracy. If things
go the other
way in Russia then there will
be no chance of a closer alliance as doubts will arise over
whether or not the two countries
share common values.
Nonetheless, Russia
has not been written off yet and this
was demonstrated by a report given
by the Public
Committee for US National Interests and Relations with
Russia, which was drawn up
by the Nixon
Centre in Washington and the Belfer Centre
at Harvard University. Authors
of the report claim 'Russia is still one of the
few countries whose activity can have a serious impact on vital US interests.' They then list seven reasons why the
US administration ought to continue paying
special heed to relations with
Russia:
Firstly,
Secondly, as the USSR's successor, Russia maintains ties with countries
which remain inaccessible to the US government, whether it be in the Middle East, central Asia or in other
regions. Russia is well informed about
what is happening in these countries. Russian intelligence and influence in these regions could
provide the US with substantial assistance in confronting the current, developing
and future challenges that could arise, especially
in the war against terrorism.
Thirdly, Russia still possesses nuclear weapons which are capable
of doing colossal damage to the
US. Fortunately, such a scenario has become considerably less likely since the end of the Cold
War. Nonetheless, the US will always
be interested in making
sure that these weapons are not used against the
US or its allies.
Fourthly, Russia
is responsible for controlling the largest arsenal in the world of nuclear
war-heads and radioactive materials used for creating nuclear
weapons. It is essential that Russia meets this
responsibility to prevent the possibility
of 'unaccounted for radioactive materials.' The US is interested in ensuring that Russia
implements effective programs to prevent
the theft of these weapons and
the sale of nuclear weapons to terrorists who
could use them to kill
American citizens.
Fifthly, Russian reserves, technology and expertise in creating biological and chemical weapons
mean that it is extremely important for the US to
collaborate with Moscow as the US in seeking to prevent
the spread of these kinds of weapons. Also, collaboration with Russia could prevent
countries hostile to the US from
obtaining complex arms such as rockets
and submarines.
Sixthly, Russia
is the leading exporter of hydrocarbons (oil and gas)
in the world. Russia could allow
the US to diversify and store
up reserves of energy that are
not supplied by Middle Eastern or OPEC countries.
Finally, the seventh reason: as a permanent member of the UN Security Council Russia has the right to
veto and could therefore have a substantial positive or negative impact
on US' efforts to operate through the UN and other
international organizations
to promote other important interests. At a time when many are concerned
about the US' use of power, cooperation
with Russia could enable the
US to establish global leadership. In a wider context, close ties between
Russia and the US could deter
other countries from viewing Moscow
as a potential source of political support.
The
report, which is only provisional, was prepared in autumn 2003 before the
arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the Russian
parliamentary elections. The full version of the report is expected in spring
2004 and will serve as a recommendation to the next
This report
can also be read in the newspaper Russia
and Global Politics.
Translated by Nick Chesters
http://www.rosbaltnews.com/2004/02/17/65521.html