Interview with Expert Online
William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Expert Online, July 17, 2007
Question № 115 – Ilja: Mr. Ambassador – It is no secret that today people in nearly every country have negative views about the United States and the Bush Administration. Russia is no exception. More than a half of questions on this forum are full of resentment and hostility towards U.S. foreign policy and American society in general. Given your experience as a Minister Counselor and then Ambassador in Russia, what is your perspective on the level on anti-Americanism in modern Russian society? Who promotes anti-American attitudes in Russia?
Ambassador Burns: Thank you for the question. You would have to be blind not to see the growth of anti-American sentiment in Russia today. It can probably be explained by several different factors. Some of them are general, and related to broad questions like Iraq, and some are specific to Russia. My impression is that many Russians believe that Americans don't understand how complicated the past 15 years have been for Russia, that Americans are a little too quick to lecture and to criticize, and that American have been saying for the last 15 years that we welcome the revival of Russia as a great power, but that we really didn't mean it and are uncomfortable with that revival and somehow seek to limit it.
There is also a sense amongst many Russians that Americans tend to take Russia and Russian interests for granted, and that Americans have tried to take advantage of Russia. I don't agree with that, but I think that is the impression that many Russians have developed. I think it is very important for the United States to make clear that we respect Russia and that we understand that our relationship – like any healthy relationship – needs to be a two-way street. We want to build on common ground between us, whether it is in nuclear cooperation, economic cooperation or many other fields. I am firmly convinced that Russia and America matter greatly to each other and that a good relationship between us matters to the rest of the world.
Question № 61 – Владимир Полонский: What are politicians doing to insure that the way Russian history is taught in the U.S. accurately reflects its development during the 20th and 21st centuries? Otherwise it seems that Russians are all wild (living as bears in Siberia) and Moscow is the only city.
Ambassador Burns: It's especially important that this year, 2007, the 200th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and America, for Russians and Americans to respect and understand one another's history. One of the ways in which we are trying to encourage that is through an academic conference that we are jointly sponsoring with the Russian Academy of Sciences in November that will focus on the history of our relationship and the history of our two countries. Having lived in Russia in the mid-1990s and again now, for the last two years as Ambassador, I understand that you can't understand Russia simply by sitting in Moscow. As much as I love Moscow, I know that you can't understand Russia by sitting inside the Ring Road, any more than you could understand America simply by sitting in Washington and New York. I travel frequently around Russia, and I genuinely enjoy it. I will go to Murmansk tomorrow and Chukhotka next month. I encourage my colleagues in the Embassy to travel a lot, as it's a very important part of our jobs. It is also very enjoyable part of our jobs.
Question № 51 – Макс: How would the U.S. react to the placement of Russian missile defense installations in Cuba or other South American countries which espouse anti-American attitudes?
Ambassador Burns: The honest answer is that we would probably not react very well. What is important to focus on in relation to missile defense is what President Bush and President Putin discussed in Maine two weeks ago, which is the possibility of cooperation between the us – between the United States and Russia and others – on missile defense. We both have a great deal more to gain from a cooperative approach. President Putin has suggested some interesting ideas for possible cooperation, he has talked about, for example, setting up joint data exchange centers. He has talked about making use of the NATO-Russian Council to try and develop cooperation. We agree with that. I am not naive. I know this a complicated issue, but I really do think there is a basis for cooperation between us on missile defense and that is what we are committed to trying to explore in the coming months.
Andrey Borzenko (Expert Online): How do you explain the refusal to consider Russia's offer on Qabala?
Ambassador Burns: There hasn't been a refusal. President Bush has made it clear that we are very interested in exploring the ideas that Russia has suggested, including the idea of making joint use of the Qabala radar site. That is certainly one of the ideas on the table for discussion.
Question № 8 – Юлия: A couple of months ago I heard in news that there is serious consideration to allow Russians entry to the U.S. without the necessity of a visa. Could you please tell us if such a program is real? If so, why is it so difficult for Russian citizens to get a visa, even though they bring all the documents necessary to prove financial solvency and economic ties to Russia?
Ambassador Burns: The United States remains an open society and we want to be open to Russians who are interested in visiting the U.S. Five or six years ago, we refused nearly 20 per cent of the non-immigrant visa applications we received – for tourists, business people, students, etc. Today we refuse less than 10% of the applications we receive. In 2006, we issued 70% more student visas than we did in 2004. Participation in particular programs such as the Summer Work and Travel Program continue to increase significantly. This year, we issued more than 17,000 visas for the Summer Work and Travel program, 4,500 more than when we started the program two years ago. We issued visas to 96% of the young Russians who applied for the Summer Work and Travel program, and we encourage additional applications for these programs. I hope that the number of young people receiving visas will continue to increase in the future.
Question № 30 – Илона: Why are Americans afraid to go to the former Soviet states on business, as tourists, or even in transit?
Ambassador Burns: It's not true that Americans are afraid to travel to Russia. Last year there were more than thirty thousand Americans that visited Russia. Another twenty thousand Americans live in Russia, and as our business ties increase, as the economic relationship between our two countries increases, those numbers are going to grow.
I can't explain the perception. I would just emphasize the facts: in recent years, we have seen a growth in the number of Americans visiting Russia and living in Russia. Part of the explanation is the expansion of our economic relationship. American investment in Russia increased by 50% last year. There is a lot of interest in America about Russia, and you are going continue to see an increase of tourism in both directions. And that's a good thing.
Question № 59 – Максим: Will the U.S. continue to provide financial aid to NGOs working in Russia?
Ambassador Burns: The United States is certainly ready to support NGOs around the world, including in Russia, to provide support to those who are interested. We offer the benefit of our own experience, our successes as well as our failures, and people who are interested can learn from our experience in areas that range from helping the disabled to ecology. Support that we provide is strictly in accordance with Russian law through NGOs that are properly registered. It's fully transparent, and anyone who is interested can look at our web site to see what kinds of NGOs we support. We do not engage in partisan political activity, we do not support individual candidates, we do not support particular political parties. Our law does not permit it in the United States, and that's not our business in Russia. We believe that it is important for a healthy civil society to grow and we are glad to provide support under Russian law to NGOs in Russia.
Question № 32 – Павел: What percentage of Americans really believes that the American mass-media is independent?
Ambassador Burns: Most Americans believe that our media is independent. That doesn't mean that they believe that our media is perfect; there are certainly excesses from time to time. From the point of view of the government official, it's not always easy to deal with the independent media because sometimes you have to face difficult questions and scrutiny. Whatever the problems that our media face, Americans attach real importance to freedom of expression and the role that media plays in holding people accountable, so when we have problems like corruption – which we have from time to time – the media can cast a light on that problem, hold people accountable, and try to deal with the problem fairly. For Americans, an independent media is a very important institution.
Question № 32 – Павел: Don't you think that U.S. efforts to "bring" democracy to the Middle East will never work?
Ambassador Burns: First, I don't think that the United States or anyone else can bring democracy to another country. We can't impose or implant democracy in another society; it has to grow from within. I spent a lot of time as a diplomat in the Middle East; it's a region of the world that faces a lot of challenges – regional conflicts like the Arab - Israeli conflict, economic problems, and social problems. I believe that countries in that region are capable of building modern democratic institutions. I believe that over time they will – not because the United States endorsed or implanted democracy, but because it's in their own best interest. But it certainly won't be an easy process.
I think that over time people in the Middle East -- like in other parts of the world -- will increasingly want more open economic and political institutions. They won't necessarily be institutions that look like American institutions, and they won't be made in America. But those are the kind of institutions which help people in that part of the world to compete economically and to realize their potential. It's certainly not going to happen quickly. A lot of problems need to be overcome.
Question № 54 – Сергей Бойко: Why does the U.S. criticize other countries for being protectionist, when the U.S. closes its own market to foreign investments?
Ambassador Burns: It's simply not true that the United States closes its market to foreign investments. The opposite is true. Last year foreign investment in United States increased by 77 % – to a total of $162 billion, which was the highest total since the year 2000. The American economy depends on free flowing trade and investment. There are 5 million jobs in the United States which depend on companies that have headquarters outside of the United States. We are also committed to an economic relationship with Russia which is a two-way street. Russian investment in United States is increasing. For example, a Russian company acquired Oregon Steel last year for $2 billion. Despite all the discussion about United States Government rejections for foreign investments, the truth is that the United States Government has never rejected a Russian investment in United States.
Question № 47 – Leonid: What economic, political, and historical factors compel the British government to support U.S. policy without question? It is surprising that sometimes the British government supports U.S. policy despite the lack of either obvious economic advantage or in the face of negative public opinion, (both inside the UK and the governments of Continental Europe). It seems that Great Britain is ready to be isolated from the European states in the name of close political and economic ties with the U.S. What it for the reason for this?
Ambassador Burns: The United States greatly values our friendship with Great Britain. We have a long and proud history together. You would have to ask the British to answer questions about why they make the decisions that they make. I am certain that their decisions are based on what they see to be their interest.
Question № 67 – Mikhail_Tarasov: What is the primary difference between the situation in Kosovo and Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria?
Ambassador Burns: It is not easy to compare those situations. Each of them arises out of its own set of circumstances. We want to see all of them resolved peacefully, and in the best interests of the people involved. In the case of Kosovo, which has a population which is more than 90% ethnic Albanian, after a history of great violence, the United Nations decided to essentially remove Kosovo from the control of the government in Belgrade and to put it under international administration.
A couple of years ago the United Nations' Secretary General asked a former president of Finland to make recommendations about the future of Kosovo. He has recommended a supervised independence with strong guarantees, strong protections of minority rights as well as religious and cultural sights in Kosovo. The United States believes that independence is the only realistic outcome. But we, like our partners in Europe, want to work through the United Nations Security Council to try to find a path forward. We want to work with Russia toward that end. We do not underestimate the difficulties of this question, but that's what we want to work toward.
Andrey Borzenko (Expert Online): Thank you.
Ambassador Burns: Thank you.