TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

U.S. Re-Evaluating Image Of Putin

ADVERTISEMENT

The New York Times

Published: August 15, 2008

WASHINGTON - Russia's military offensive into Georgia has jolted the Bush administration's relationship with Moscow, senior officials said on Thursday, forcing a wholesale reassessment of American dealings with Russia and jeopardizing talks on everything from halting Iran's nuclear ambitions to reducing strategic arsenals to cooperation on missile defenses.

The conflict punctuated a stark turnabout in the administration's view of Vladimir Putin, the president turned prime minister whom President Bush has repeatedly described as a trustworthy friend.

Now, Bush's aides complain that Russian officials have been misleading or at least evasive about Russia's intentions in Georgia.

Even as the conflict between Russia and Georgia appeared to ease on Thursday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the Russian attack had forced a fundamental rethinking of the administration's effort to forge "an ongoing and long-term strategic dialogue with Russia."

"Russia's behavior over the past week has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with NATO," Gates said at the Pentagon.

"If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come."

The unspoken new danger is that a cooling relationship could cost the administration any hope of working closely with Russia on some of its topmost priorities, such as controlling nuclear proliferation, countering terrorism or resolving the problems of the Middle East.

If Russia and the United States rarely acted as allies in Bush's presidency, they also rarely allowed disagreements to undermine what Bush considered one of his bedrock diplomatic relationships.

After their first meeting in 2001, Bush said famously that he had looked into the eyes of Putin and "got a sense of his soul."

Bush has pursued policies that Putin vigorously opposed, including supporting the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, a Russian ally, expanding NATO to include some former Soviet bloc nations and stationing elements of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

But the two worked closely together to battle terrorism. Administration officials said that Putin generally cooperated in efforts to curtail nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

Only four months ago, Bush and Putin met in Sochi, the Russian resort only miles from Georgia, and signed a "framework agreement" that pledged to cooperate on a variety of diplomatic and security matters and declared that "the era in which the United States and Russia considered one another an enemy or strategic threat has ended."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT