American Committee for US-Russia Accord

In democratic countries, disagreeing with government policy is nothing unusual. But Russophobic paranoia has reached such a peak that those who dare to propose better relations with Russia are increasingly facing pressure to be silent.

Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com). This installment focuses on an existential question: Will, or can, a President Trump enact a policy of détente—replacing elements of conflict with elements of cooperation—in US relations with Russia?

US foreign policy in the Middle East has been a spectacular series of wars and air raids and retreats. Russian policy – in the Yemen war during Nasser’s age and in Afghanistan – has been destructive enough, but the post-Soviet state seemed to have curled its claws until Putin moved his men into Syria.

The United States should threaten Russia with military force in order to contain the Kremlin’s growing power on the international stage, a top candidate to become Donald Trump’s Secretary of State has said.

Many may believe that America’s huge political upset could even be described as a victory for the Kremlin. In fact, the idea peddled by American news media that Mr. Putin supports Mr. Trump is far removed from reality.

A senior Republican lawmaker has some advice for President-elect Donald Trump on dealing with his Russian counterpart: “proceed with caution.”

DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY in our presidential election set off many convulsions, but few were as shattering as the one that dynamited the Washington foreign policy elite…If he remains firm and pulls us out of the spiral of US-Russia confrontation, he will be stepping back from the conflict that has seemed more likely than any other to explode into nuclear war.

ACEWA  Board Member and Russian studies Professor Stephen F. Cohen joined Travis Smiley in a conversation about the current state of the relationship between Russia and the U.S. particularly as it relates to the pending U.S. presidential election.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was ready to fully restore relations with the United States following the election of Donald Trump. But even so, when Trump assumes power on Jan. 20, he will inherit a Russian-American relationship in deep crisis.

Lionized as a nationalist hero in Ukraine, Stepan Bandera was a Nazi sympathizer who left behind a horrific legacy.

 

Far from being a Putin stooge, Trump might be able to establish a better working relationship with Russia than Obama managed.

Professor Stephen F. Cohen and renowned radio host John Batchelor talk about the new cold war on the eve of the US election.

Russia is watching the US election closely, the Kremlin has said, and any possible improvement in relations between the two countries will depend on Washington. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow was willing to work on the two nations’ deteriorating ties once the presidential vote was over, RIA Novosti reported.

If I had cornflakes for breakfast (which I don’t), I would have choked on them, reading Andrew Parker’s view of the threat posed by Russia, not just to the world at large – that is a commonplace of the “new cold war” discourse – but to the stability of the UK.

Turkey’s always-complex zigzags between its Western allies and their respective strategic rivals are more than notorious. Russia is a case in point. A year ago Turkey and Russia were on the brink of war over Syria. Today they are in a courtship that may include critical defense and procurement cooperation.

The following items come courtesy of Newsweek, The Washington Post and US News and World Report. They have appeared within the last several days and are representative of the media coverage regarding NATO and Russia. The first, from Newsweek (link below), comes from the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Nolan Peterson who, for his work covering the Ukrainian civil war, was given an award by the US Embassy in Kiev by Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt.