Russia in Global Affairs

China should understand that Washington’s end goal is to systemically curb Beijing’s very ability to exercise its sovereignty as it sees fit.

Everyone agrees that US-Russian relations are in a perilous state. No one believes a reset is possible; indeed, neither Moscow nor Washington wants one, so great are the contradictions between them. Both have settled for the less ambitious goal of stabilizing relations to halt, if not reverse, a dangerous downward spiral. That sounds good and responsible. But what does it mean?

India views democracy as a positive value but without a messianic zeal for its promotion, it would not hesitate to engage with the idea as long as it promotes its strategic interests - especially vis-a-vis China. It does not believe in dividing the world based on democracies vs autocracies, given the high level of engagement it has with several non-democratic regimes, but is willing to see the idea as forming part of a broader agenda setting.

On July 8, 2021, Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, took part in an online discussion of European Policy Centre, titled “The Biden-Putin Summit: What Next and What Implications for the EU?”.

On July 8, 2021, at 15:00 Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, will take part in an online discussion of European Policy Centre, titled “The Biden-Putin Summit: What Next and What Implications for the EU?”.

On June 11th, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. Moscow time (GMT+3) Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, will take part in an online discussion of the European Council on Foreign Relations, titled “What to expect from the Putin-Biden summit?”. Register here.

If the proposed summit between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin goes ahead, it will attract the attention of the world’s media and give both men a PR boost. But nothing will fundamentally change.

Joe Biden’s ‘yes’ to an interviewer’s question about Vladimir Putin being a killer sounds outrageous even against the backdrop of the dreadful relations between Washington and Moscow, which have been in free fall for a long time.

The current US-Russia relationship paradox is that more interaction brings further tension. The momentum of the previous approach propels these relations into an even steeper downward spiral. When thinking about the road forward, we should forget the idea of two sides “agreeing on something”, at least for a time.