Moscow, Washington Should Heed Realpolitik
You can still hear propaganda rhetoric. However, both Russia and the U.S. appear eager to find common ground. It does not necessarily mean that the parties’ positions will be brought closer. But it gives hope that the ability to engage in a constructive dialogue will be restored, which has been undermined in the recent months and weeks especially.
The statements made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Britain could have been described as mild compared with the latest ruthless speech by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Although criticizing Russia severely, the Pentagon chief made some statements in stark contrast to the U.S. government’s predominant attitude. For example, the idea that authoritarian regimes too have their own legitimate defense interests sounded revolutionary for a member of President George W. Bush’s team which in fact has spent two presidential terms trying to prove the opposite.
Gates urged both sides to undertake careful commitments but be ready to make good on the ones already taken. It was no doubt a warning for those who view Ukraine’s and Georgia’s admission to NATO as an ideological end goal, making no heed for strategic consequences. Finally, Gates stressed that Russia’s actions posed no “existential and global threat”.
The most wide-spread concept in the current debate on Russia going on in the United States is the need to be realistic. The illusions once cherished by the Clinton government about transforming Russia to Western patterns are being criticized, along with the Bush administration’s policy of ignoring Moscow completely. Many now urge the White House to listen to what the Kremlin has to say. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell emphasized that Russia is different from the Soviet Union, but it has its own interests which need to be considered.
Moscow has been emphasizing its interests for a while now, and has even openly claimed the zone of its “privileged” interests. Therefore, a similar discussion on the other side of the Atlantic must be good news. However, even if realism does reign in U.S. policy after the elections, it would not necessarily mean an easing of tensions.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at the NATO-Russia summit in Bucharest: “It's the potential, not intentions, that matters.” Although the political, economic and military potential of today’s Russia has grown, it is still below that of the weakening United States. If being realistic still means trying these potentials against each other, the consequences will be disastrous.
What both sides should learn from the school of realism is a classic diplomatic rule to respect others’ interests to the extent where they still do not harm one’s own. One gets the impression that Washington has recently forgotten this rule. It is important that Moscow does not also become so forgetful.
Fyodor Lukyanov, Russia in Global Affairs editor-in-chief
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 22, 2008
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