Vestnik Kavkaza interviewed Peter Rutland, Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, on Russian-American relations.
- Describe US-Russian relations today. Are they really as bad as they are being portrayed by the media? What is the main reason for that?
- I think that relations are as bad as they have been since the Soviet era, but let's hope things will turn around. They have reached a point of no return - things cannot get any worse. So let's hope they will start getting better. And the second question: “why is that?” For some time there has been a gradual distancing between the two sides. On the Russian side, the resentment at NATO enlargement is the main factor. And in the short term the immediate cause was Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. So that has really tipped Western attitudes into a very negative position, which was deepened by the incursions into East Ukraine and the shooting down of the Malaysian airliner. It was a psychological turning point for the Europeans. This is as bad as this can get and let's hope it will slowly get better.
- Have the US and Russia ever really been friends or true partners during the last two decades after the breakup of the Soviet Union? Did the Cold War ever end in these years?
- It is not an easy question to answer. There were people on both sides who wanted it to be over, and who pretended it was over, and who tried to make sure it was over, but also people on both sides who did not share that opinion. It is not a “yes” or “no” answer. Both in the Yeltsin period and in the Putin period there were some years when the two sides were cooperating very closely and genuinely and had a good relationship. However, there was always an undercurrent of suspicion and there were groups on both sides who did not believe in the partnership.
- What role do the former Soviet Republics play in US-Russia relations? Could this be the main “irritation” in bilateral relations?
- The main concern of the US political establishment is relations with Russia, with Moscow. That is the most important relationship. The role of the Central Asian republics, Ukraine or the Baltics is secondary. Occasionally it can surface and interfere with the main Moscow-Washington relationship. When controversies arise in Kyrgyzstan or Estonia or in Ukraine these are usually temporary interruptions. I do not think US has that much of a long-term interest in all those neighboring countries.
- How about the republics of the South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan? What importance do they have for both Russia and the United States, taking into consideration the fast development of oil-rich Azerbaijan?
- I think the US interest in the South Caucasus peaked earlier on; it probably peaked five to ten years ago. This is due to the fact that Nabucco pipeline did not materialize, the fact that Azerbaijan’s own oil has passed its peak, and the 2008 war in Georgia, which showed the limits of the US ability to influence events in the region. Those circumstances meant that since 2008 the US has backed off a bit from its ambitious hopes for strong relationships and a surge of energy transit through the South Caucasus. So the initiative has shifted a little bit towards Russian influence in the region.
