Russia and the US: Can't Live with Each Other, Can't Live without Each Other

American President Barack Obama will not be traveling to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but he does plan to attend the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. Of course, he has no intention of meeting with the head of the Russian government there. The White House made this clear on Wednesday [Aug. 7]. The question of the American president’s visit to Moscow was up in the air for several weeks — precisely during the time that elusive CIA contractor Edward Snowden was milling about in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo International Airport. After the latter was offered temporary asylum in Russia, the White House was left without any other choice — if Obama met with Putin in Moscow, the Republicans would never forgive him for that act of “spinelessness.”

Playing by the Rules

In recent years, regardless of the periodic “thawing,” there has been a serious cooling of relations between the U.S. and Russia. The two sides can’t come to a consensus on missile defense or on how to manage the Syrian crisis, among other no less important questions. Given the current state of affairs, Washington has made use of its experience during the Cold War, when both the U.S. and Russia operated according to the narrative that there was nothing but bad blood between them.

And here we go again, a declaration of “bad blood” by the White House. According to a statement released by the White House, “Following a careful review begun in July, we have reached the conclusion that there is not enough recent progress in our bilateral agenda with Russia to hold a U.S.-Russia Summit in early September.” In Washington’s words, “We value the achievements made with Russia in the president’s first term, including the New START Treaty, and cooperation on Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.”

“However, given our lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last 12 months, we have informed the Russian Government that we believe it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda,” says the press release.

This seems about right: U.S.-Russian relations are not good, and there has not been any significant progress. Why should the two presidents meet? Never mind the fact that any one-on-one meeting between the heads of such important superpowers as the U.S. and Russia is valuable in itself and could actually be a shot in the arm for relations between the two countries.

Taking Snowden into Account

The runaway CIA agent Edward Snowden is only mentioned in passing in the White House press release. Russia’s decision to grant him temporary asylum is decried as “disappointing.” That decision “was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship.” That seemingly peripheral problem turned out to be the main source of frustration ahead of the American president’s visit to the Russian capital, and it resulted in that visit’s cancellation.

Everything is simple in the current situation: The Republicans would never forgive Obama for “kowtowing” to the Russians. It is clear that in such circumstances, the U.S. president simply had no other course of action. If he had met with the Russian president, then he would have had to reckon with attacks from his opposition at home. The head of the White House opted to save face before his own nation by showing resistance to the Kremlin but still observing decorum and stating his readiness to participate in the upcoming G-20 summit in St. Petersburg. Apparently, the economy isn’t part of the equation here. And in deciding not to meet with Putin in Russia’s “Northern capital,” he is showing Americans that he is taking a principled stand against “those rotten Russians,” who not only refused to extradite Snowden but are also oppressing gays.

Moscow Leaves the Door Open

If the Americans are disappointed by a “lack of progress” in many areas, Russians are disappointed with the current American presidential administration’s decision. “It’s clear that this decision is linked to the situation around former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, a situation which was not created by us,” said Russian presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov. “This situation just goes to show that, as usual, the U.S. is not ready to construct relations between our countries on a level playing field,” he said, adding that in response to similar extradition requests from Russia, the U.S. constantly refused, citing a lack of precedent.

However, regardless of the latest exploits of the U.S., the Kremlin has left the door open, so to speak. “The president is still invited to visit Russia,” stated Ushakov. “We’re prepared to work with our American counterparts on all of the crucial questions on our bilateral and multilateral agendas,” the presidential assistant added.

More Work To Be Done

It goes without saying that it would be more beneficial for bilateral relations if the presidents of Russia and the U.S. decided to meet, but the circumstances have not worked out that way. For that reason, correspondence between high-level Russian and American officials and experts will continue. On Aug. 9, a meeting will be held in Washington between the heads of the foreign policy and defense ministries of both countries. Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu will negotiate with their American counterparts John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. It is expected that the parties will discuss a wide range of issues related to strategic stability and international security.

During the meeting, the serious and perennially vexing issue of missile defense will be discussed. Such topics as nuclear proliferation will also feature on the agenda, and no dearth of attention will be devoted to such issues as the Syrian crisis, Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The multifaceted bilateral negotiations will continue on all fronts.

It is clear that under present circumstances, the U.S. and Russia can’t afford to completely “freeze” relations. The Cold War era has irrevocably passed away, and there is a new geopolitical reality in the world, according to which the U.S. has to take into account Russia’s opinion, as well as many other factors such as the increasing power of the countries of the “Third World.” It is for that reason that Barack Obama will still come to St. Petersburg. It is not just that Russia is not closing its door, but even America, having slammed its door shut, promptly propped it back open.

After all, a bad peace is better than a good war.