Opinion Editorials & Interviews
200 Years of Our Relations
William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Argumenty Nedeli, November 14, 2007
Question: We know that our President's have good relations, but will elections create a pause in relations?
Question: It's true that both Russia and the United States face complicated election periods, but I don't think that either of us can afford a slow down in our relationship or in inactions. I don't think the world is going to slow down for either of us. Both Russia and the United States have a very important stake in a whole range of issues and the world has a very important stake in how well or how poorly we manage our relationship. One obvious example is nuclear matters. Here is an area where the United States and Russia have both unique capabilities and responsibilities to show leadership. So in that area a lot more is possible as you look out over the next year, even though we will both have our own domestic political preoccupations.
Question: So we need a permanent mechanism like Gore-Chernomyrdin – instead of Summits?
Question: It's a very good question and I think that structure is an important part of any relationship. Especially relationships between Great Powers like the United States and Russia. I remember very well the Gore-Chernomyrdin structure from my previous service in the Embassy in Moscow. Even in the 1980's, when we had a much different kind of relationship during the Cold War, there was the structure of Secretary of State Shultz and his then-Soviet FM colleagues meeting regularly.
We took an important step in the direction of greater structure in the relationship a few weeks ago, when our Foreign and Defense Ministers met in Moscow – the so-called "2+2" mechanism. They have agreed to meet again in six months in Washington. That is an important example of the value of a structured relationship, because they can look at the whole range of political and military issues, many of which are related to one another or are interconnected. That is essential in a relationship that is a broad and important as the one between the United States and Russia.
There is more that can be done in economic sphere to build greater structure into the relationship, because our economic relations are growing very fast. Our Education Ministers, to cite one example, met just a week ago in Moscow. A year ago they signed a new Memorandum of Understanding about educational and university partnerships. That is another example of structure in an important part of the relationship between our two societies.
So the short answer to your very good questions is – structure is important. There is more that we can do and as we look at out at the next 5 or 10 years of relations between the United States and Russia that will be a very important priority for both countries.
Question: What are the most serious problems in the relationship?
Question: Unfortunately there is no shortage of challenges between us. Missile defense has been very controversial issue between us. Kosovo and its future is another one. This issue of the CFE Treaty has also raised concern on both sides. On Iran, and Iran's nuclear program, while strategically there is a lot of common ground between the United States and Russia – both of us are working hard diplomatically to insure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons program – we have tactical differences from time to time.
We need to face those kinds of differences honestly and plainly. We cannot pretend that they do not exist. Our task is to see where we can narrow the differences wherever we can on the basis of mutual respect. One example of that, looking back at the meeting of our Foreign and Defense Ministers in Moscow, has to do with the CFE Treaty, where the United States came with some new ideas to try and narrow the differences between us. Discussions have continues since Secretaries Rice and Gates were here and met with their counterparts and with President Putin. I hope that those will prove constructive.
So again, there is no shortage of challenges. Ours is a relationship, which will inevitably contain elements of cooperation and also some elements of competition and rivalry. There are ways in which we can narrow differences and there are certainly ways in which we can expand the existing areas of common ground.
Question: What are the best ways to overcome these difficult issues diplomatically?
Question: First, philosophically it is important for us to be honest with one another and to understand that our relationship is not a prefect strategic partnership. It's not likely to be in the next few years in the sense that we are not going agree on every issue, but our relationship can be – and should be – a partnership on certain key strategic issues.
I mentioned on of them before – nuclear matters – where we can work together and we can do more in the interests of not only Russia and the United States, but also the whole world. In the economic area, it is important for us to work together on questions like Russia's accession to the WTO. It's in Russia interests and it's in America's interests too.
There are a lot of areas in which we can expand common ground and in areas where we differ we just have to be honest. We have to look at our relationship as a two-way street in which both of us need to be creative and to be flexible where we can. The United States tried to show that kind of spirit in dealing with the issue of the CFE Treaty – to listen, to take Russian concerns into account, and then to put forward ideas that might help bring us closer together.
Question: Speaking of the economy – has the USG adopted laws limiting foreign investment in the U.S.? Does this apply to Russian companies?
Question: The truth is that both Russia and the United States are in the process of defining or updating what are respective rules will be regarding to certain types of foreign investments. In Russia, the Duma is now considering the Strategic Sectors legislation. In the United States, the American Congress has recently considered an updating of a set of regulations which apply to certain kinds of foreign investments. Inevitably there has been a certain amount of apprehension and concern on the part of investors on both sides – Russian looking at the American market and Americans looking at the Russian market – about what those rules of the road are going to mean for them.
One of the things I hope to do here in Moscow in the next few months is to organize a seminar or a conference. After our rules are in place and after the Strategic Sectors legislation is passed by the Duma, each of us can explain to the others business community what those rules mean and to clarify them to remove some of misunderstanding. So I hope we will be able to do that in the next few months.
In the meantime, I would just add a few points. First, looking at the American investment climate, the United States remains one of the most open investment climates in the world. It is a very important part of the prosperity of our economy. In 2006, the last year for which we have statistics, foreign direct investment into the United States totaled 161 billion dollars. That's the greatest figure for a single year since the year 2000. So the trendline has been up in terms of foreign investment. It is interesting to note that Russian investments are an increasingly important part of that trend. Last year a Russian firm acquired Oregon Steel for almost 2 billion dollars.
Further, while some potential investments in the United States have aroused public controversy, for example there was a company from the UAE a year ago; there has never been a case in which a Russian investment was refused under American regulations.
So I think the trend line is clear – that Russian investment and business activity in the United States is increasing. Whether in the energy sector, down-stream acquisitions, or in other sectors of the economy, it is a good thing for both of our countries. I very much hope that over the next few months, we will be able to clarify for one another what our respective regulations really mean, because there are enormous opportunities for Russian businesses and investors in the United States.
Question: What will be the areas of common cooperation in the next few years?
Question: Despite our differences over some issues, which I'm very realistic about – I think there is a long list of areas where we can work together. Some of them have very deep historical roots. We were just discussing space cooperation. It was almost exactly 50 years ago that the launching of Sputnik set in motion what first a competition, but which now has brought about decades of cooperation.
There is a lot more we can do in scientific cooperation in dealing with some of the deadliest diseases to face mankind, whether it's HIV/AIDS or certain strains of Tuberculosis. We are already working together in a modest way – Russian and American doctors and laboratory specialists in some countries in East Africa – to help further develop the laboratory capacity in those countries to deal with HIV/AIDS. So there is more we can do in that area.
I mentioned economic cooperation. Especially as the Russian economy diversifies beyond oil and gas and takes advantage of what I have always thought is the greatest resource – human beings – a very well educated and talented population, interaction with American companies is going to become more and more important.
The nuclear field I mentioned is an obvious area for cooperation.
There is a temptation to think of education and exchange programs as a thing of the past – something we did during the Cold War. The truth is that they are as important now as they have ever been. We have almost 70,000 young Russians, who are alumni of participants of exchange programs in the United States. It is one of the smartest things that the U.S. did over the last 15 years. Although, I will not pretend that everything we did and every bit of advice we offered Russia over the last 15 years has been wise, but that is one of the best things we did. One of the opportunities both of us have as we look ahead is to make those exchange programs more of a two-way street. I talked about educational partnerships. Now Russian universities are partnered with American universities. The Russian Ministry of Education is contributing some resources to that, just like the U.S. Ministry of Education is. There are certain Russian business firms, like the Alfa Bank, which have set-up internship programs that bring young Americans to Russia. As the Russian economy has grown there is more and more of an opportunity to make this a real two-way street. That's good for both of us.
That's a long answer to a very good question. It's easy for us to get so preoccupied with our frustrations with one another and the problems we face – I would be the last person to pretend they don't exist. On the other hand, it would be a real mistake for both of us to lose sight of all those other areas that I've mentioned.
Question: Numerous times American statesmen have mentioned that the United States is interested in a strong and democratic Russia. Do you agree with this statement? If so, why?
Question: It will hardly surprise you for me to say that I am of that opinion. And it's for a simple reason. I think that a strong, healthy, prosperous Russian society serves the interests of Russia first and foremost, but also the interests of the United States. In all the areas that I mentioned before, each of us can objectively promote our interests better by working together as opposed to working separately. In each of those areas I think that is true. I know there is a lot of suspicion on the part of many Russians that I've talked to in the almost two and a half years that I've been back as the American Ambassador. They look at American attitudes and especially American rhetoric and say – you know, the truth is that Americans like to preach and to lecture, that Americans really don't understand how complicated the last two decades have been for Russia, that Americans like to say that they welcome the revival of Russia as a Great Power, but that somehow Americans really don't mean it and that they're uncomfortable with it and now are trying to limit it.
The truth is that the reemergence of a strong Russia certainly brings elements of competition, as I said before. It does create differences. It creates areas in which our interests and our policies collide. But it also opens up opportunities in other areas. Again, the nuclear field is one which is very important, where a strong Russia working with a strong United States helps both of us to advance our interests around the world.
Russia's effort to build modern economic and political institutions is going to be a very important part of its ability over the long term to sustain its prosperity and its health as a society. I say that not as another example of American lectures or preaching, but for the very practical reason that in order to sustain that prosperity, in order for people to have some confidence about their property and property rights, it is very important to create institutions which will ensure that there is a Rule of Law that applies in the economy and ultimately in the political system as well. That there is a system of checks and balances that guards against the abuse of power and that guards against corruption. That is the practical value of having an independent media and an independent judicial system. It is not an abstract or an academic issue and it is certainly not a favor to the United States or any other outside country. It is very much a matter of the self-interest of Russians in taking full advantage of the enormous potential of this society and sustaining what has been very welcome and very impressive economic growth over the last seven or eight years. Those institutions, in example after example around the world, are essential in order to insure that growth and prosperity will continue for generations and not just for a period of years. It also helps to insure that the economy diversifies beyond oil and gas. Russia has a lot more to offer, in economic terms, as well as in many other ways, than a lot of other countries around the world that just happen to have a lot of natural resources.
So, I am very much of the view that a strong Russia and a prosperous Russia is going to serve American interests over time, even it sometimes creates collisions over particular policies. The key to ensuring a strong and prosperous Russia over time is going to be building those kinds of institutions. They don't have to be exactly like the ones Americans have built. Russians are going to have to build these themselves. Of course it will take time. It didn't happen overnight in the United States. But it is very much in the interests of Russians just as it is of Americans.
Question: We have been celebrating 200 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries – can you mention the events which have already occurred and those that will happen in the future?
Question: What we are trying to do by commemorating the 200th anniversary of relations is remind each other of the many ways in which our two societies have been connected. It's not just about diplomacy or relations between governments, as important as that is.
For example in the arts, the Guggenheim Museum worked with the Pushkin in Moscow for a very ambitious exhibition of American Art. It was the biggest single exhibition of American art ever staged in Russia. We've had a regular series of concerts at Spaso House to celebrate the connections between our two societies in culture and in the arts. We have revived a Speakers Program that one of my most distinguished predecessors, Jack Matlock, had begun more than twenty years ago. This program has brought a number of prominent Americans, including Tom Friedman – the columnist for the New York Times – and Henry Kissinger to talk about the U.S.-Russian relationship over those 200 years. We've highlighted space cooperation, as we were discussing before, with particular events that remind people of ways in which Russians and Americans have made a difference to the rest of the world.
So we're continuing to look at further events that we can hold over the rest of 2007. Then next year we're also looking ahead to the 75th anniversary of Spaso House, the American Ambassador's residence. So you can say we always look for anniversaries to remind people of what has been important about our relationship.