Bratislava summit unlikely to bring major shift in Russian-US relations

A Russian-US summit ended in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Thursday, with a series of documents signed and the two countries vowing to further enhance their "strategic" partnership. But the glaring differences and existing conflicts between the two powers admit of no prospects of a breakthrough in the their relations.

LIMITED FRUITS OF THE MEETING

At a joint news conference after their talks, US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to avoid issues that could cause rifts by claiming that they "see no alternative to the constant strengthening of Russian-US relations" and termed the summit as "fruitful and constructive."

Stressing that he appreciated the frank nature of his talks with Putin, Bush said he and Putin agreed on a number of issues such as Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the two countries' cooperation on energy, nuclear security, fighting terror and boosting the peace process in the Middle East region.

But it should be noted that although the two sides' agreement on new measures to combat nuclear terrorism, restrict commerce in shoulder-fired missiles and better safeguard nuclear arsenals could be termed a highlight of the meeting, the issues of Russia's entry to the WTO and their energy cooperation are actually nothing new and have long been solved.

Russia has conducted a 12-year lobbying campaign for its WTO accession, and managed to strike bilateral agreements with most related countries and trade partners, but the US remains one of the few big countries yet to reach agreements with it.

Meanwhile, plans for increased Russian energy supplies to the United States are stalled as the Kremlin tightens its grip over the strategic sector and raises questions about the rule of law with its campaign against the oil company Yukos. Besides, cooperation against terror and weapons proliferation is marred by disputes over Russian arms sales and ties with Iran.

LONG-STANDING CONFLICTS

The summit, the first in Bush's second term, came at a time when US-Russian relations soured over Russia's opposition to the US-led Iraq war and further cooled amid US concerns over Putin's domestic policy and Moscow's stance toward Iran.

Despite the agreements reached between the two powers during the meeting, judging from the long-standing conflicts and confrontation which date back to the Cold War and their mutual mistrust, it seems unlikely that the summit would result in a major shift in the two countries' relationship.

Some observers say that in order to keep its dominant position in the world, the United States has been persistent in their policy of suppressing a Russian revival, which is demonstrated in the following aspects:

First, blatantly meddling in the domestic affairs of Russia. The United States has criticized Russia on a series of issues such as its domestic political reform, its approach to democracy, the dismantlement of the oil company Yukos and Chechen issues, accusing the Kremlin of drifting toward authoritarianism and trampling on human rights.

Internationally, the United States rebuked Russia for its arms sales to Syria and its nuclear cooperation with Iran.

Second, squeezing Russia out of its strategic position. The eastward enlargement of the US-led NATO, which incorporated seven countries, including the three Baltic states, last March, has pushed the bloc's defense line to the border of Russia and brought a fundamental change to Europe's political map.

Over the past 10 years, the United States has also strengthened its infiltration into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, which are regarded by Russia as its traditional sphere of influence.

The change of Georgia's leadership in November 2003 and the most recent events in neighboring Ukraine which brought West-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko to power have again stirred Russia's fears of encirclement.

Third, the United States has contained the economic development of Russia through various means.

Russia, a country with abundant energy and technology resources, remains a strong rival to the United States, even after the NATO enlargement which indicates that the United States got the upper hand. However, it has got increasingly annoyed by US unilateralism and preachment, in particular criticism of its domestic and foreign policies.

PRINCIPLE OF COOPERATION AMID CONFRONTATION REMAINS THE MAIN TONE

Despite all the disagreements between Moscow and Washington, the two interdependent powers will still be practical and maintain their "alliance of convenience," refraining from escalating the conflicts into full-scale confrontations.

Russia will do so because of declining national strength while the United States needs the Kremlin's endorsement of its efforts to fight terrorism, prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, maintain a strategic balance, resolve regional disputes and tackle energy shortage.

During Bush's first term, the two countries experienced a period of adaptation to each other and terrorism, Iran and arms control topped the Bush administration's agenda after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But now the United States might shift more attention to containing Russia and this may strain the relations between the two countries.

However, Russia is unlikely to choose full confrontation as the means to protect its core interests when disputes arise with the United States.

Source: Xinhua