Obama's Russian visit wrapping up
MOSCOW — Working to turn Russia from antagonist to ally, President Barack Obama asked the Russian people today to "forge a lasting partnership" with the U.S., but he acknowledged after talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that on divisive issues there won't be "a meeting of the minds anytime soon."
Obama was wrapping up a two-day stay in Russia, during which he and President Dmitry Medvedev said they were determined by year's end to negotiate a new nuclear arms treaty that would slash both country's arsenals by about one-third.
After breakfast at Putin's country home, Obama sped back to central Moscow to tell the graduating class of the prestigious New Economic School that the U.S. and Russia were not "destined to be antagonists."
Throughout his young presidency, Obama has hewed to a singular message about U.S.-Russian relations, insisting both nations must get beyond the kind of thinking that gripped Moscow and Washington during the decades of the Cold War. He reprised that in his graduation speech.
"It is difficult to forge a lasting partnership between former adversaries," Obama said. "But I believe on the fundamental issues that will shape this century. Americans and Russians share common interests that form a basis for cooperation."
Before leaving for Russia, Obama said Putin had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new." After breakfast with the Russian leader, he told Fox News Channel: "I found him to be tough, smart, shrewd, very unsentimental, very pragmatic. And on areas where we disagree, like Georgia, I don't anticipate a meeting of the minds anytime soon."
Putin, the former Russian president, also spoke warmly of his country's hopes for improved U.S. ties with Obama in the White House.
"With you we link all our hopes for the furtherance of relations between our two countries," the former KGB official said, sitting next to Obama.
The White House had been hoping to reach a broader Russian audience with Obama's speech, but the address was not widely available on television. It was carried live on the 24-hour news channel Vesti, but not on any of the main, more widely watched Russian outlets such as First Channel, Rossiya or NTV.Obama used his speech to further define his view of the United States' place in the world and, specifically, to argue the U.S. shares compelling interests with Russia."Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia," he said.Obama's upbeat comments showed his determination to turn around public opinion in Russia, where polls show people are wary of the United States and take a skeptical view of Obama himself.He said Russian and U.S. interests largely overlap in halting the spread of nuclear weapons, confronting violent extremists, ensuring economic prosperity, advancing the rights of people and fostering cooperation without jeopardizing sovereignty.But he also sprinkled in challenges to Russia, particularly in the area of democracy. U.S. officials are wary of Russia's increasingly hard-line stand on dissent."By no means is America perfect," Obama said. But he also said: "Independent media have exposed corruption at all levels of business and government. Competitive elections allow us to change course. ... If our democracy did not advance those rights, I as a person of African ancestry wouldn't be able to address you as an American citizen, much less a president."
