In debate, Romney reiterates Russia is 'geopolitical foe' of US
The GOP presidential candidate's comments about Russia, which he has repeated several times this year, are likely to irk the Kremlin, but are not apt to change US-Russian relations.
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"Once again Russia's on America's list of adversaries," shouted Thursday's headline in the independent Moscow daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The online newspaper Pravda.ru, which also publishes in English, warned that "Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan promise Russia Republican hell... the official Republican candidates for president and vice-president support the radicalization of the country's foreign policies, particularly about the relations with Russia."
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Europe Editor
Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor. He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog. He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
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But again, experts told Weir they found it unlikely that Romney would follow through with his tougher talk.
"Romney may be talking a cold war line, as if he pines for the clarity of those days, but there's little substance in it. In fact, the main thing about Romney is that he seems to lack any vision at all," says [Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a leading Moscow foreign policy journal]. "He never dealt much with foreign policy, never had anything to do with Russia. If he wins, the biggest problem will probably be a long period of confusion while he tries to figure out what he actually wants to do." ...
Russian experts say there's no appetite in Moscow for a new cold war, and though the establishment would probably prefer to see Obama return in November, they could probably find a modus vivendi with a President Romney.
"Despite Obama's 'reset', you can't say we've developed a fully normalized relationship between Russia and the US. Things remain quite complicated," says Sergei Strokan, a foreign affairs columnist with the Moscow daily Kommersant. "There are things we need to talk about, such as strategic stability and Afghanistan, and one has the impression that any US administration will continue those discussions. And there are things we disagree about, and that acrimonious dialogue will probably continue no matter who is elected president in November."
Still, there are some signs that Mr. Putin may be taking Romney at his word. After Romney once again repeated his "geopolitical adversary" position on Russia in September, Putin said in the press that he was "grateful to [Romney] for formulating his stance so clearly, because he has once again proven the correctness of our approach to missile defense problems," referring to Russian resistance to a US plan to install anti-missile systems in Europe. The US says such systems are a defense against Iranian rockets, but the Kremlin has long suspected that they are actually meant to target Russian missiles.
"The most important thing for us is that even if he doesn't win now, he or a person with similar views may come to power in four years. We must take that into consideration while dealing with security issues for a long perspective," Putin said. But he noted that he would still work with a Republican administration.
"That Mr. Romney considers us to be enemy No. 1 and apparently has bad feelings about Russia is a minus, but, considering that he expresses himself bluntly, openly and clearly, means that he is an open and sincere man, which is a plus," Putin said. "If he is elected president of the US, certainly we will work with him as an elected head of state."
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