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No Shift Occurring in U.S.-Russian Relations, Says White House

United States remains committed to partnering with Russia on common challenges

A recent speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin criticizing U.S. foreign policy should not be seen as a sign of a shift in relations between Washington and Moscow, says White House spokesman Tony Snow.

Calling Russia "an important ally," Snow told reporters February 12 that the United States remains committed to working with Russia and other partners to tackle a host of transnational security challenges, including terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

On February 10, Putin told the 43rd Conference on Security Policy in Munich, Germany, that the United States had "overstepped its national borders in every way" through "unilateral, illegitimate" actions and an "almost uncontained use of military force."

The Russian president also criticized ongoing U.S. negotiations with East European countries to install missile defense systems, which the Kremlin suspects are an attempt to weaken its defenses even though the systems seek to deter ballistic-missile threats from the Middle East.

"We certainly disagree with the characterization of the United States acting unilaterally," Snow told reporters February 12. "The fact is that the United States has been working aggressively, including with Russia, to work in a multilateral fashion on a series of key issues."

Snow said that the United States and Russia are diplomatic partners in several multilateral initiatives, such as the "P5-plus-one" group, in which they join China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in seeking to convince Iran to stop developing nuclear weapons.

Another example of U.S. multilateralism, he said is the ongoing Six-Party Talks, where the United States and Russia have joined delegations from China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea to implement the September 18, 2005, agreement to remove nuclear programs from the Korean Peninsula. (See related article.)

The United States and Russia are also partners in the Quartet, where they join with the United Nations and the European Union in promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace. (See related article.)

"Obviously President Putin has his comments, but if you take a look at the ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Russia, it continues," Snow said.

President Bush, he added, has "regular and quite frank conversations with President Putin. They understand each other and will continue working together."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates addressed the Munich conference February 11, where he responded to Putin's speech by reaffirming the U.S. commitment to multilateralism. "We all face many common problems and challenges that must be addressed in partnership with other countries, including Russia," he said. (See related article.)

International terrorists' ability to mix new technologies and old hatreds is a threat to the global community, he said. No fewer than 18 terrorist organizations, many linked to al-Qaida, have launched attacks against innocents all over the world - including in Russia, partner in endeavors," Gates said.

In his speech, Gates also questioned Russian policies, such as arms transfers to hostile regimes like Iran and Syria and its use of its energy exports for "political coercion" of its neighbors, both of which he said seemed to work against international stability.

These and other issues are likely to top the agenda as Gates meets in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, following the conference.

Quoting NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Gates said that "Russia need not fear law-based democracies on its borders."

The full text of Gates' address to the Munich Conference on Security Policy can be found on the conference Web site.

For more information on U.S. policy, see Russia.

Source: U.S. Department of State