Beyond the Reset Policy: Current Dilemmas of U.S.–Russia Relations

Abstract

The Obama administration's reset policy with Russia focuses on certain key issues in the Russo-American relationship: arms control, as embodied in the new Prague treaty called New Start, gaining Russian support for U.S. pressure on Iran, and gaining Russian support for the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. This article closely examines the arms control and Iranian issues as well as the broader issue of Russo-American rivalry over Eurasian security, perhaps the core issue in the relationship and certainly the most contentious one there. The analysis suggests that there are numerous problems with the treaty that go beyond the issue of whether or not it allows the U.S. to build missile defenses. It also suggests that there are unproven and even unjustified assumptions about Russian policy regarding Iran and regional security that reduce the real value and prospective gains of this policy for the U.S.