Posted on July 28, 2009 - by Venik

Loose Lips…

Newspapers in America and Russia are busy busting Joe Biden’s chops for taking lead from Sarah Palin and going Maverick on relations with the Kremlin. It is not that Biden said something that the Russians didn’t already know: Russia’s economy and population are both in decline and long-term prospects are not exactly rosy. Depending on what statistics you use, of course. What annoyed the average Ivan, however, was the inescapable implication of Biden’s words: the US believes it holds a decisive advantage and, therefore, plans to continue dealing with Russia from position of strength. Ergo, everything Obama said during his latest visit to Moscow is a load of condescending bull.

If in the past Americans were wondering who exactly runs Russia: Putin or Medvedev, it is now the Russians’ turn to puzzle over who is in charge of US foreign policy. On the one hand you have Hillary arriving in Moscow with a big red “reset” button as a symbol of America’s declared desire for better relations with Russia. And on the other hand you have Obama’s number two essentially restating Dick Cheney’s take on relations with Russia. Who will the Russians believe? Biden, of course: what he said only reinforces Russia’s preexisting and rather strong doubts over Obama’s sincerity.

Attempts by the White House and the Department of State to put a lid on the Biden controversy were less than successful. The White House spokesman said that Obama and Biden are very much in agreement on their approach to dealing with Russia. Therefore, Clinton’s latest ode to Russia’s greatness notwithstanding, everything Biden said stands. Russians should be grateful that America’s position on bilateral relations was clarified so unexpectedly quickly and painlessly. As far as the Kremlin is concerned, Biden’s vice-presidency is the best thing that happened to Russo-American relations in a very long time.

Obama seems desperate to mend the latest rift. He even suggested that Russia may be allowed to join NATO. The first and the last time Russia asked to join NATO was in 1954 – a year after Stalin’s death. The request was denied. Beyond window dressing, NATO was and remains an anti-Russian military alliance and Russia’s membership would inevitably cause this organization to lose its purpose. Despite the obvious, every time Washington runs its Russia policy into the ground, it starts waving the white flag of NATO membership for Moscow. This keeps the Kremlin occupied just long enough for the Department of State to come up with a new ploy to squeeze concessions out of Russia. Like the “reset” button.

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