After the fanfare of President Obama's first state visit to Russia has died down, analysts will be left examining what exactly was achieved over the past two days. Obama arrived in Moscow determined to build new relations and confidence between the US and Russia, where for too long the two powers have eyed each other suspiciously through a Cold War lens. Despite the US president's considerable charisma and refreshingly open attitude to the outside world, this was never going to be an easy task. Obama has had to balance the demands of a considerably prickly Russian administration with those of an international community apprehensively expectant of certain tangible results, such as nuclear weapons cuts or cooperation on Iran, as well as with a hostile domestic opposition in the US who are only too eager to brand Obama as too ‘naïve' or ‘soft' for the world stage.
In fact, the measured, "extended hand" of Obama's approach can be viewed as welcome relief from Bush's "war on terror" and Manichean attitude to international affairs - frequently used as a political tool by Putin as a way to legitimize his own propaganda. In contrast, during his speech to the New Economic School in Moscow, Obama went so far as to reiterate his warning that "state sovereignty is the cornerstone of international order". Whilst it did not match the boldness of his speech in Cairo or the brilliance of those in Prague and Ankara, the authorities deemed his words controversial - or insignificant - enough not to be broadcast on any major Russian television channels.
This incredible lack of respect for the freedom of the press is just one of the many abuses that the Russian state is perpetrating within its own borders. Whilst we understand the difficult challenge that Obama faced on his first encounter with the Russian leadership cabal on their own soil, we lament the fact that these abuses were not higher on his agenda. Indeed, for Chechens and their neighbours in the North Caucuses, where violence and instability are growing once again in the face of heavy handed and brutal tactics from the authorities, Obama's blunt praise of Putin's contribution to Russian society will seem more conciliatory than necessary. For them, the more poignant question that has arisen from the summit won't be what was achieved, but what wasn't achieved. Let's hope that Obama's primary mission, to build good personal and political relations with President Medvedev, will have at least been accomplished. The G8 summit currently taking place should now be a further opportunity for Obama to use such relations to impress upon his Russian counterpart the values of human rights, rule of law and democracy as a common platform for future communication.
Ivar Amundsen
Director, Chechnya Peace Forum |
