Putin Their Best Face Forward
Obama meets with Russian PM, calls for end to old antagonism
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin shook hands in Moscow Tuesday morning. It was the first time the two influential men have met.
President Obama was treated to a breakfast of black caviar, smoked beluga and pancakes by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin before calling on the former superpower to embrace democracy and leave its rivalry with the U.S. in the 20th centrury.
The Russian-style breakfast came at Putin's rural compound outside of Moscow as the two met for more than two hours to discuss U.S.-Russian relations. Both men said their meeting went well, with Obama noting he found Putin's views similar to those of Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, with whom he met Monday. Prior to leaving Washington, Obama had described Putin as still having a confrontational Cold War mentality and Medvedev as more progressive.
Putin, seen as the more powerful Russian leader, called the two-hour meeting "substantive, informative and collaborative." He said he and Obama "covered the issues from previous years" and found "many positives" and "many points in common."
Afterward, Obama addressed graduates of the New Economic School in a speech televised on Russia's lesser TV networks. His reception in Russia has been markedly less enthusiastic than recent trips to Europe, as polls show Russians are wary of the U.S. and taking a skeptical measure of Obama.
Obama sought to downplay differences between the nations and cast the former rivalry that took them to the brink of nuclear war in a historic light.
"The pursuit of power is no longer a zero-sum game," Obama told the graduates. "Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia."
Obama said the interests of Russia and the U.S. generally coincide in five key areas: 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 on its own soil, particularly in the area of democracy. U.S. officials are wary of Russia's increasingly hard-line stand on dissent and a free press.
"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."
Obama said the U.S. will not try to impose any kind of government on another country. But he argued for democratic values "because they are moral, and also because they work."
On Georgia and Ukraine — two nations that have sought NATO membership to the chagrin of neighboring Russia — Obama tried a diplomatic touch. He defended the steps nations must take to join the alliance, adding, "NATO seeks collaboration with Russia, not confrontation."
The speech was not widely televised in Russia. It was carried live on 24-hour news channel Vesti, but not on any of the main, more widely watched Russian TV channels like First Channel, Rossiya, or NTV. And it was being broadcast with translation on Vesti's sister radio station, but not on the other two main state radio broadcasters: Radio Rossiya or Radio Mayak. Obama's talk was greeted with polite applause at the conclusion.
The U.S. and Russia have plenty of significant differences, but Obama suggested one of the biggest problems is fixable: deeply rooted and harmful assumptions from another era.
"There is the 20th century view that the United States and Russia are destined to be antagonists, and that a strong Russia or a strong America can only assert themselves in opposition to one another," Obama said. He dismissed that as inaccurate.
Meanwhile, Putin sent a telegram to former President George W, Bush hours before the meeting with Obama, praising him for his "openness and sincerity" and congratulating Bush on his 63rd birthday on Monday.
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