This Thursday ROAR presents daily newspaper articles on Russia’s relations with the US and Europe, on US–Israeli disagreement over the estimates of Iran’s nuclear program and a report on the future of Russian media.
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NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA’s Andrey Terekhov writes that a recent report containing an independent commission’s suggestions on the necessary changes in US policy towards Russia may trigger a fierce discussion in Washington.
The writer says that the members of the American bi-partisan Commission on US policies towards Russia, created in 2008, confirm that their conclusions, as well as the very notion of improving US–Russia relations, are going to cause a major discussion in the political circles of the American capital.
The head of the Commission’s delegation on a visit to Moscow, Dimitri K. Simes of the Nixon Center, is quoted by the author as saying that prior to the visit its members had meetings with several key figures of American politics, while in Moscow they met with President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces General Nikolay Makarov. The writer says all these meetings were held in order to get a clear picture of the views and opinions of the Russian leadership on various matters of bilateral relations and the current situation in the world.
The quote goes on: ‘Our goal is to try to influence the direction of the American debate on Russia. It is clear that with the new administration in place a certain change is happening in the US attitude to Russia. However, no final decisions have been made or concrete steps taken so far.’ The writer says the report, as well as the Moscow visit are just the very beginning of a lengthy process that intends to change a general attitude which produces a negative reaction every time the idea of changing the tone of rhetoric towards Russia is raised, to say nothing of changing policies.