News Network
The ongoing negotiations between Russia and the United States on the missile defense system in Eastern Europe continue to fail. Statements with mutually exclusive goals only push each other further away. The gap steadily grows larger, adding only more disagreement and irritation. Political analysts admit that the relationship has reached its lowest point since the Cold War. Yet, the end is not nigh, improvement is possible.
The countries must first come to terms with their differing views on national and global security. While the purpose of the U.S. missile defense shield is the obvious bone of contention, there are much deeper problems.
The major cause of the deteriorating relationship is the erroneous frame through which each country is viewed. Unless there is a significant shift in this view, escalation is inevitable. Changing the trajectory of the relationship requires the abandonment of the Cold War as the reference point. Constant reinforcement of the Cold war relationship—i.e. better or worse—reinforces old stereotypes. It does not allow one to see beyond the old framework. Using it as the barometer to determine the degree of friendship/animosity produces Cold War assessments.
To encourage constructive cooperation, a different type of measurement should be applied, oriented to the future rather than the past. Russia today is not Russia of the 1990s or even of President Putin's first term. The tribulation of the post-Soviet era is over. Paying off the national debt restored pride by removing dependency on foreign aid.
High oil prices and rich national resources, allowed Russia to pay ahead of schedule. It was a significant mark of liberation and national recovery. Now with economic and political stability, Russia is more assertive about her position in the world, exemplified by recent warnings of withdrawal from several military or arms control agreements, an impossibility in the 1990s. Yet, the current political, economic and social confidence-building is more a sign of stabilization and recovery from the disastrous consequences of the breakup of the Soviet Union. It marks the emergence of new Russia, rather than a return to Russia of the Cold War era. To advance the possibility of successful negotiations, the U.S. must first recognize that a new Russia is at the table. Though new, the underlying motives of both countries remain the same: security then, security now. And the best answer to the security dilemma is cooperation.