\nspecial visit to Russia ahead of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg
\nin September. The deal between Moscow and Washington that could
\narise from such a visit \u2014 well before the end of the first year of
\nObama\u2019s second term \u2014 would certainly give him \u201cmore flexibility,\u201d<\/a><\/i> as he told Russia\u2019s
\nthen-President Dmitry Medvedev in March 2012, for the rest of his
\nterm.<\/p>\n
In April, Obama sent an initial letter
\n(http:\/\/rt.com\/politics\/obama-putin-letter-composed-310\/) to Putin,
\ndelivered by Donilon during a visit to Moscow. Though never
\npublished, the letter reportedly contained a number of constructive
\nproposals aimed at improving bilateral relations and cooperation on
\npressing global issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdeas covering some of the directions have new elements, which
\nour country will study carefully and respond to accordingly,\u201d
\nRussian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said, referring to the
\nletter\u2019s contents.<\/p>\n
While in Washington, Patrushev also met with US Defense
\nSecretary Chuck Hagel and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns,
\nreportedly to discuss military cooperation and bilateral
\nrelations.<\/p>\n
![\"Russian](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/2b\/50\/00\/2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
US-Russian relations in a downward spiral<\/h2>\n
In March 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian
\nForeign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced a much-touted \u2018reset\u2019 in
\nrelations in Geneva, and the future of US-Russia relations looked
\nbright. But over the past three years, relations have deteriorated
\nconsiderably.<\/p>\n
After a year of consultations, the two nations signed and
\nratified a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 2010. But despite
\nthat breakthrough, no other positive developments have emerged.<\/p>\n
In June 2010, the US arrested 10 Russian agents and later
\ncharged them with espionage. The Obama administration also insisted
\non the continued deployment of the US missile defense system in
\nEastern Europe, something which Moscow strongly opposes. Secretary
\nof State Clinton also accused the Kremlin of rigging the 2011
\nRussian parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
Following the elections, public protests erupted in major
\nRussian cities, which Moscow claimed were instigated by
\nforeign-sponsored NGOs. The organizers of the mass protests have
\nnot been detained, though investigations are underway.<\/p>\n
Russia then adopted a law inspired by US legislation that
\nrequires all NGOs that receive money from foreign sources to
\nofficially register as foreign agents, forcing many NGOs to shut
\ndown.<\/p>\n
In November 2012, Obama signed the \u2018Magnitsky Act,\u2019 banning
\ncertain Russian officials from entering the United States or
\nholding financial assets in the country. Russia was quick to
\nretaliate, and banned US citizens from adopting Russian
\norphans.<\/p>\n
Moscow later introduced the \u2018Dima Yakovlev List,\u2019 which imposed
\na travel ban on certain US officials responsible either for torture
\nat Guantanamo or for detaining Russian citizens to imprison them in
\nthe US.<\/p>\n
And recently, Washington accused Russia of not sharing vital
\ninformation on the Tsarnaev brothers, the ethnic Chechens who
\nbombed the Boston Marathon, and Russia defiantly arrested the third
\nsecretary of the US Embassy in Moscow on espionage allegations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite the deep divides between Moscow and Washington, active
\ncontacts between the White House and Kremlin appear promising.
\nRussia and the US may have no choice but to unite economically and
\nmilitarily in the face of a looming second global economic crisis,
\nas well as a worsening global political situation, particularly in
\nthe Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.<\/p>\n
US global ABM system will be curbed \u2014 top Russian brass<\/h2>\n
Statements made by top Russian officials on Friday at the second
\ninternational Military and Political Aspects of European Security
\nconference in Moscow suggest that little has changed in Russia\u2019s
\nposition on the US global missile defense system.<\/p>\n
The conference \u2014 attended by some 300 Russian and NATO military
\nexperts and diplomats \u2014 debated issues of strategic stability,
\nincluding NATO\u2019s military buildup in Eastern Europe and the current
\nrole of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
The head of the Russian president\u2019s administration, Sergey
\nIvanov, delivered a speech at the opening of the gathering railing
\nagainst the West\u2019s \u201cone-sided approach to the matters of missile
\ndefense.\u201d<\/i> Only legally binding international agreements could
\nensure effective arms control, Ivanov stressed.<\/p>\n
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu also noted that the
\n\u201cmissile defense problem is sharp,\u201d<\/i> and that further Western
\ndevelopment would endanger the principle of indivisibility
\ninscribed in the European missile defense system.<\/p>\n
Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov drew a connection
\nbetween the further Russian nuclear disarmament proposed by
\nWashington with the development of the US global missile defense
\nsystem. If the US continues with a global ABM system, Moscow may
\nexit the new START treaty signed in 2010.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Moscow is confident it has the means to
\novercome US missile defense: \u201cWe make no secret that we have
\nmilitary-technical means to neutralizing the possible negative
\nimpact of the US global missile defense system on the Russian
\nnuclear forces potential,\u201d<\/i> Gerasimov said at the opening of the
\nMoscow conference.<\/p>\n