US President-elect Barack Obama (1961- ), God willing, he shall end the disastrous neocon foreign policy of Clinton and Bush II. Time shall give us his measure.
President Dmitri Medvedev invited US President-elect Barack Obama to launch a joint effort to deal with global problems. In a seasonal message to Mr Obama released by the Kremlin press service on Tuesday, Mr Medvedev said that Russia and the United States had accumulated valuable experience in cooperating on current international problems. “I am sure that, at the present time, it will be in special demand. I act on the assumption that we will, without delay, start working together along all major lines, taking into consideration the situation in the world and our countries’ interests”, Mr Medvedev said.
Mr Obama is to be inaugurated in Washington on 20 January. “You are assuming the post of the President of the United States at a trying moment. But, I am sure that despite the scale and complexity of outstanding problems, you will meet with success”, Mr Medvedev said. He added that he was sure that Russia and the United States would manage to “augment the positive experience in cooperation on the basis of pragmatism and a balance of interests”.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in mid-December that President Medvedev would meet with President Obama, shortly after his inauguration. Russia-US relations have been frayed by Washington’s plans to deploy elements of a missile shield to Central Europe, Russia’s five-day war with Georgia over South Ossetia in August, and NATO’s eastward expansion. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently said that he expected Russia’s relations with the United States to improve after Mr Obama takes office in January. His words were echoed by Mr Medvedev.
Mr Obama said earlier this month that he wanted to “reset” relations between Washington and an “increasingly assertive” Moscow. “We want to cooperate with them where we can, and there are a whole host of areas, particularly around non-proliferation of weapons and terrorism, where we can cooperate, but, we also have to send a clear message that they have to act in ways that are not bullying their neighbours”, Mr Obama said.
30 December 2008
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081230/119234336.html (in English)
