Yet, the two sides remain stalemated over the U.S. pursuit of a missile-defense system in Europe, pushed hard by Bush and under review by Obama. Both sides hardened their positions ahead of the summit.
The U.S. contends the program is designed to protect U.S. allies in Europe from a potential nuclear attack by Iran. But the Russians see it as a first step toward a system that could weaken their offensive nuclear strike potential.
It's a funny little song and dance--Russia is concerned about the United States posing a threat to their Mutually Assured Destruction understanding (which is really the most important "treaty"), while the United States is looking completely past Russia as any sort of immediate threat--this despite the fact, as BBC coverage notes, that Russia indeed maintains a larger stockpile of nuclear weapons than even the United States. BBC also takes care to note that Obama will be speaking with Prime Minister Putin on Tuesday, which may be when actual negotiations happen. Regardless of when they happen though, it's good to see the President continue to take action to match his words on disarmament. But I have little hope of headway being made in the near future so long as both the Russian government and its people (intertwined through media interaction) are deeply skeptical of the United States' sincerity--it will be extremely difficult for our President to say "Let's move on from that missile shield to other issues." To quote the BBC in closing:
The message seems clear. The US wants a fresh start, but if one is not forthcoming, then so be it. Russia is by no means at the top of the Obama administration's foreign policy agenda, although the Americans know that on a variety of their pressing concerns - such as Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea and global warming - Russian assistance could be vital.
This, then, should be a summit of limited expectations.
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