Posted by Ilya Somin:
Obama to Meet with Russian Opposition Leaders:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_06_28-2009_07_04.shtml#1246657448
Like [1]Cathy Young, I worry that President Obama might be overly
solicitous of the interests of Russia's authoritarian regime. In this
respect, he could potentially repeat the mistakes of President Bush,
who - until relatively late in his presidency - tried very hard to
develop a close relationship Russia's ex-KGB ruler Vladimir Putin
(including ending US criticism of Russian atrocities in Chechnya,
signing a nuclear arms limitation pact on terms favoring Russia, and
[2]waxing eloquent about how he had looked into Putin's eyes and saw
an "honest and trustworthy" partner with a wonderful "soul"), while
getting few concessions from the Russians in return.
President Obama's [3]decision to meet with Russian opposition leaders
during his trip to Moscow is, however, a small hopeful sign:
President Barack Obama has invited several prominent members of the
Russian opposition, including United Civil Front leader Garry
Kasparov, for a meeting in Moscow. Boris Nemtsov, a chair of the
Solidarity opposition movement, has also been invited to the
meeting, set to take place on July 7th at the Ritz Carlton hotel.
The format of the event was still unclear.
�Of course, this will be interesting,� Kasparov said on the Ekho
Moskvy radio station. �The previous American administration didn�t
dare to do this....�
Obama will travel to Moscow on July 6th for meetings with the
Kremlin as well as business and civil society leaders. A meeting
with Russia�s leading human rights advocates has been scheduled at
the Metropol hotel, the location of a consultation between
representatives from NGOs in the US and Russia.
Earlier, Boris Nemtsov argued that it was essential for Obama to
meet with opposition forces in Russia. �If the White House agrees
to Putin�s suggestion to speak only with pro-Putin organizations��
this will mean that Putin has won, but not only that: Putin will
become be assured that Obama is weak,� he said.
[4]Falling oil prices and the financial crisis have reduced Putin's
popularity and weakened his regime's grip on power. Now more than
ever, it is important for the US to avoid putting all of our eggs in
the Putin basket and encourage pro-Western liberal opposition forces
in Russia.
That doesn't mean we should never cooperate with Putin on issues of
common interest. For example, if Putin suddenly shows a willingness to
work with the US on Iran, North Korea, and other issues, Obama should
pursue any such opportunities that might arise. Effective foreign
policy sometimes requires cooperation with unsavory regimes. While the
current Russian government is odious, it isn't nearly as bad as its
communist predecessors, or as repressive as the governments of Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, and several other US allies.
So far, however, the Putin regime has done virtually nothing to
reciprocate either Bush's many overtures or Obama's more recent
efforts to press the "reset button" on US-Russian relations. As
opposition leader Boris Nemtsov suggested in the passage quoted above,
perhaps Putin will be in a more cooperative mood if we avoid looking
weak and demonstrate that we have other options. Even if he doesn't,
we have little to lose by working to foster liberal forces in Russia.
And if the current regime's popularity continues to decline, we have a
lot to gain from working to promote liberal alternatives to [5]the
strongly anti-Western communists and ultra-nationalists who are the
other main alternative to the status quo in Russia. Obama's meeting
with the Russian opposition leaders is a small, but symbolically
valuable step in the right direction.
References
1. http://reason.com/news/show/134457.html
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1392791.stm
3.
http://www.theotherrussia.org/2009/07/03/obama-will-meet-with-russian-opposition/
4. http://www.volokh.com/posts/1234474059.shtml
5. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_02_22-2009_02_28.shtml#1235872823
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