Russia in Global Affairs

Millions of American children have been fascinated by the folktale The Little Engine That Could. It is about a small locomotive that succeeds in pulling a heavy train up a steep hill. The moral is about optimism and true grit. The engine sings out the mantra “I think I can, I think I can” as it chugs uphill. This Wednesday’s Russia-U.S. summit in a Swiss villa will have some of the qualities of that little engine.

Relationship between Russia and United States which witnessed different periods before has turned into something completely irrational, completely beyond any normal analysis in recent couple of years. So, I would read the goal the Putin-Biden summit (at least on the Russian side) as an intention to frame this new situation, to accept that we have not a chance to achieve any agreement like a “reset” 10 years ago.