Opinion: Reset Brings Benefits to US and Russia

(June 23) -- When Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sits down in the Oval Office Thursday with President Barack Obama, the two leaders should be allowed a moment of self-congratulation.

U.S.-Russia relations are on an upswing more than a year after Obama pushed the "reset" button on what had become a very tense relationship between the former Cold War foes.

While disagreements continue over such issues as U.S. missile defense in Europe and policies toward the states of the former Soviet Union, much of the venom has disappeared, and there is increasing cooperation on nuclear disarmament and Iran.

Examples:

• In the past few months, the U.S. and Russia have signed a new Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, and Russia supported a fourth U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution against Iran.
• In the aftermath of that vote, Russia announced it would not sell to Iran the S-300 air defense system. The Obama administration had strongly urged Russia not to provide the system, which could be used to protect Iranian nuclear facilities from a potential attack.
• The recent unrest in the former Soviet Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan did not result in heightened U.S.-Russia acrimony. Instead, frequent discussions between the two leaders revealed shared concern over the stability of a nation that hosts both American and Russian military bases.
• Where in the past Russians were extremely wary, and even hostile, to U.S. policies, 57 percent now have a favorable view of the U.S., according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center. The U.S. has not been so popular in Russia since the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

While Obama and Medvedev appear to have good personal chemistry, the primary reason for the improvement in ties is not the result of looking into each other's souls, in the fashion of George W. Bush and former President (now Prime Minister) Vladimir Putin.

For Medvedev, the top priority is to revive and modernize Russia's economy. For this he needs foreign investment. Hence his first stop in the U.S. was not Washington but Silicon Valley -- home to Russian emigres such as Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

There is an economic rationale as well for Russia's willingness to accommodate U.S. concerns over the S-300 system. The Obama administration has reintroduced into Congress a nuclear cooperation agreement that was put on hold after Russia's conflict with Georgia two years ago. According to Dmitri Simes, president of the Nixon Center in Washington, that agreement could be worth between $1.5 billion and $3 billion in U.S. contracts for Russia's nuclear industry.

Opposition to the agreement remains in Congress, but Congress would surely block the pact if Russia sold the air defense system to Iran. Meanwhile, the S-300 -- worth about $800 million -- can be peddled elsewhere, perhaps to Turkey or Venezuela, although the latter could also be problematic for the U.S.

Russia's willingness to get tough with Iran also reflects its desire for good relations with Europe, a key trading partner and investor. France, in particular, has been quite hawkish about Iran's nuclear program.

Russia and Iran also diverge when it comes to Israel. For Iran's government, the Jewish state is the "little Satan" that should be wiped from the pages of history. For Russia, Israel is home to over a million former Soviet citizens -- including Israel's current foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman -- and is a source of technology and investment. Relations are so good that Russians and Israelis can travel to each other's countries without visas.

Simes says that Russia is making "tactical adjustments" that are not sufficient to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. "The Obama administration is getting diplomatic results; whether it is getting national security results remains to be seen," he said.

Still, for the first time in years, notes Toby Gati, a former senior National Security Council expert on Russia for President Bill Clinton, the U.S. is able to work with Russia toward the same goal, and a U.S. diplomatic victory is not automatically seen in Russia as a defeat.

That is a welcome sign of maturity in both countries, two decades after communism's fall.