John McCain hasn’t abandoned his idea to exclude Russia from the G8.
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Russia Took a Lead in the USA Presidential Campaign
// The favorites dispute over the relations with Moscow
Barack Obama sees it useful
John McCain has once again lashed out Russia. Claiming that the country continues to be governed by Vladimir Putin, whose policy was called “very harmful,” Senator McCain reasserted his determination to seek to oust Russia from the Group of Eight in case he’s elected President. These statements appeared to be in stark contrast to the ones of Barack Obama, who warned against attempts to isolate Russia.
Russia received a new portion of criticism from John McCain on Sunday night. An interview with ABC’s political commentator George Stephanopoulos became the most detailed stating of Mr McCain’s views of the relations with Moscow, which the Senator promises to overhaul in case of his triumph. “Former President Putin, and now Prime Minister Putin - has taken his country down a path that I think is very harmful,” John McCain assessed the situation in Russia. Answering a question whether he really believes that Vladimir Putin continues to be in charge, he said, “I am confident - yes, I believe that he's in charge. And I don't think he would have chosen his successor, if he didn't think he would remain in charge.”
Senator McCain tried to illustrate his thesis about Russia’s heading for an autocracy giving an example from the recent international practice. “In the last week or so, look at Russia's actions. They cut back on their oil supplies to the Czechs, because the Czechs made an agreement with us. They have now thrown out the - or forced out - BP out of Russia. And by the way, I - a lot of us thought that might happen. They continue to put enormous pressures on Georgia in many ways. They're putting pressure on Ukraine. They are blocking action in the United Nations Security Council on Iran,” he said with irritation.
John McCain’s favorite subject – the relations of Russia and the G8 – was the culmination of the interview. “We need to improve their behavior. We need to make them realize that the G-8 was founded - basically, countries that are democratic, have our values and our goals and shared principles,” that is how Senator McCain articulated the mission of the G8 in the Russian direction. As Mr Stephanopoulos reminded that “every other country is against it,” Mr McCain stated, “I will stand up for what I think is the best for the United States of America and the world, the way that Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and said, “Tear down this wall.”
Nevertheless, the question whether John McCain is going to stick to the views he proclaims now in case he’s elected President, has been subject of heated discussions in Washington. According to Robert McFarlin, U.S. national security adviser to Ronald Reagan, a harsh line in the relations with Russia can prevail only at the first stage of John McCain’s rule. “Such a policy will inevitably crash against Russia’s growing economic power. As a result, we’ll have a more realistic President during the second year,” Mr McFarlin opines. Henry Kissinger, U.S. former State Secretary, takes a similar position. “I am sure Senator McCain will have an opportunity to adjust his beliefs in due course,” Mr Kissinger stated.
At the same time, according to a high-ranking official with the Kremlin, in case John McCain triumphs in the election, “there will be a long pause in the relations between Russia and the USA.” However, the official considers such a pause to be more painful to Washington rather than Moscow, because it’ll complicate America’s addressing a number of challenges that have a priority in securing the country’s national interests. The official called war on international terrorism, strengthening the regime of non-proliferation and addressing the Iranian atom problem these tasks.
Curiously, Mr McCain’s statement appeared to be in stark contrast to the one of his Democratic opponent Barack Obama. Last week John McCain’s rival twice touched upon the relations with Russia calling attempts to isolate Russia counter-productive. In his keynote speech on foreign policy in Berlin before a 200.000 audience Barack Obama advocated abandoning a cold war stance in the relations with Russia. On his return from a big overseas tour, Barack Obama pointed out in his interview with Reuters that it’ll be very difficult for the USA to address the key challenges, such as exerting pressure upon Iran in connection with its nuclear program, without Russia and China’s participation. From his viewpoint, the relations with these countries are good examples of a balanced approach towards defending democratic values and the U.S. national security.
So, the indirect dispute of John McCain and Barack Obama shows that unlike the previous presidential races in the USA, the relations with Moscow are getting one of the most important topics of the current campaign.
Sergey Strokan
All the Article in Russian as of July 29, 2008
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