Dmitry Medvedev | Hope is Not a Foreign Policy

Posts Tagged ‘Dmitry Medvedev’

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 12:41pm

The Russian “Reset”

Posted by Tom Skypek in American Foreign Policy, Russia, U.S. Nuclear Policy

Brad Thayer and I were quoted recently in a piece on U.S.-Russian relations published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU piece provides a solid overview of the arms control negotiations that will occur throughout this year between Washington and Moscow regarding the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) this December. It certainly looks as though missile defense will be the wedge issue du jour for this upcoming round of negotiations. As EIU reports, “Russian commentators insist that there will be no new START unless the US puts its plans for a missile shield on ice.” It will be interesting to see how these negotiations unfold.

President Obama is clearly receptive to a bargain–at least with respect to the missile defense site in Eastern…

No Comments Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Nuclear Weapons, START, U.S.-Russian Relations

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 2:37pm

Georgia Severs Diplomatic Ties with Moscow

Posted by Tom Skypek in Russia

Yesterday, the government in Tbilisi announced that it cut diplomatic ties with Russia to protest the continued presence of Russian troops in Georgian territory. The situation in Eurasia is not improving. Russia’s decision to recognize the “independence” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was particularly problematic since these two regions are part of Georgia.

This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev escalated his rhetoric. Commenting on U.S. plans to install missile interceptors and command and control nodes in Poland and the Czech Republic, Medvedev threatened to use military force: “This will create additional tension and we will have to respond to it in some way, naturally using military means.” Medvedev’s comments…

1 Comment Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Georgia, Missile Defense, Russia

Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 3:42pm

Russia Seeks Counterbalance to West from SCO

Posted by Matt Schwieger in American Foreign Policy, China, Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appealed to China and other Central Asian nations to show its support for Russia’s actions in Georgia at a Shangai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tajikistan today. International press offered conflicting analysis, which of course, is no surprise. What is striking, however, is that the break was not along traditional media fault lines. The following is a snapshot of a few of the headlines…

(CNN) — Russia’s hopes of winning international support for its actions in Georgia were dashed Thursday, when China and other Asian nations expressed concern about mounting tensions in the region.

AP: Asian alliance snubs Russian plea for support

AFP: Medvedev hails support from China, Central…

1 Comment Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Russia, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Tajikistan

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 3:06pm

More Belligerent Rhetoric from the Kremlin

Posted by Tom Skypek in American Foreign Policy, Russia, The American Presidency

Moscow keeps upping the ante. Today, the Kremlin announced that it is willing to use means other than diplomacy to respond to further development of the U.S. missile defense system in Poland. According to the Associated Press,

Russia lashed out at the United States on Wednesday over a missile defense deal with Poland and warned ominously that Moscow’s response to further development of the missile shield would go beyond diplomacy.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. missile shield plans are clearly aimed at weakening Russia, calling them part of growing “U.S. efforts to change the strategic balance of power in its favor.”

Russia’s invasion of Georgia and its increasingly belligerent rhetoric highlight the challenge the next president will face in…

No Comments Tags: Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Missile Defense, Vladimir Putin

Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 5:38am

Military Conflict Continues Between Russia and Georgia

Posted by Tom Skypek in Russia

Defense analysts who once believed that Dmitry Medvedev’s Kremlin would differ from Vladimir Putin’s now have their answer. Russia needs to withdraw its forces from Georgia immediately. Here’s an article from Bloomberg News:

Russia Is Waging `Full-Scale War’ Over S. Ossetia, Georgia Says
By Alex Nicholson

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) — Georgia accused Russia of waging “full-scale war,” as Russian troops took control of the capital of the separatist South Ossetia region, rejecting calls by the international community for an immediate cease-fire.

“Georgia is under military aggression of the Russian federation,” Georgian Security Council secretary Kakha Lomaia told reporters in a conference call today.

Ships of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet moved toward Abkhazia, another separatist region, and Russian…

No Comments Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia, Vladimir Putin

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 1:49pm

From Russia With Love?

Posted by Tom Skypek in American Foreign Policy, Nuclear Proliferation, Russia

Henry Kissinger wrote an interesting piece in today’s Washington Post on the future of U.S.-Russian relations under the leadership of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Kissinger is optimistic about the future of the relationship between to the two states, even though relations have cooled in recent years between President Bush and former President Vladimir Putin. In fact, Kissinger argues that Medvedev’s Kremlin may be quite different than that of his predecessor’s:

Conventional wisdom treated Medvedev’s inauguration as president of the Russian Federation as a continuation of President Vladimir Putin’s two terms of Kremlin dominance and assertive foreign policy. But after recently visiting Moscow, where I…

No Comments Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Henry Kissinger, Vladimir Putin