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    March 23, 2012

US Ambassador to Russia: No Return to Cold War

   VOA News
   Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) stands with Foreign Minister
   Sergei Lavrov (C) and new American Ambassador Michael McFaul during an
   official ceremony to present his diplomatic credentials in Moscow's
   Kremlin, February 22, 2012
   Photo: Reuters
   Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R) stands with Foreign Minister
   Sergei Lavrov (C) and new American Ambassador Michael McFaul during an
   official ceremony to present his diplomatic credentials in Moscow's
   Kremlin, February 22, 2012

   The new U.S. ambassador to Russia said he has been surprised by how
   much anti-American sentiment he has experienced at his new post, but
   said neither Russian nor U.S. officials want to go back to the
   diplomatic tension that marked the nuclear arms race in the mid-20th
   century.
   Ambassador Michael McFaul has been on the job for two months. In an
   interview with VOA Thursday, he said part of the strain between the two
   countries is due to a missile defense system the U.S. plans to build in
   Eastern Europe. He said it is clear Washington has not yet convinced
   Moscow that such a system, designed to defend against missile strikes
   from Iran, would not be a threat to Russia.
   McFaul also said U.S. policy toward Russia will not change now that
   Vladimir Putin has been elected president. While Mr. Putin said during
   his campaign that the United States was backing democracy rallies in
   Moscow, Ambassador McFaul said Washington only funds non-governmental,
   non-political groups in Russia. He said none of those funds are
   intended for political organizations, but instead are meant to help
   build civil society in Russia.
   Despite tensions - and the uncertainty that accompanies this year's
   U.S. presidential election - McFaul said Russian government officials
   seem no more inclined than U.S. officials to return to what he called
   the "bitter, bickering rhetoric" of the Cold War.
   "We have been very clear that we want to do real business on things
   that are in the interest of the United States and the interest of
   Russia," McFaul said. "We have no interest in going back to some kind
   of Cold War bickering or rhetoric. We don't think that that serves the
   American national interest."
   "The Russian government officials have signaled to me personally and to
   other members, senior leaders in our government, that they think the
   same, and that they seek continuity, and so in the next weeks and
   months I think we're going to test that proposition and see if we can
   get back to doing real business that's in our mutual interest
   together," McFaul added.

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