US and Russia take their first steps...
Saturday: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for 50 minutes, in what may turn out to be the moment that marked the dawn of a new age in US-Russia Relations.
President Trump conducted a phone conversation with Putin as a part of a series of calls with fellow world leaders on Saturday, during what was a day more representative of traditional politics than many of the days so far seen in Trump's term.
It was a calm day for Trump in comparison to what we've seen so far; a day for communicating, administration and generally chewing the fat with the President's international counterparts. As evidenced by the recent Executive Order banning immigration, it looks like international terrorism is high on the list of things Trump will be addressing during his presidency. The Kremlin said Trump and Putin had agreed to prioritise the fight against the worldwide spread of terrorism, including so-called Islamic State and other groups beginning to surface in Syria. The White House said the call was positive and a "significant start" to improving a relationship that is "in need of repair".
Others that Mr. Trump spoke to on the day included leaders from Japan, Germany, France and Australia, but it is of course the call to Russia that has caught everyone's attention and is possibly most significant. In an official statement, The Kremlin provided details of the first official call between the two leaders since Mr Trump recently took his seat in the White House as the 45th President of the USA. The Kremlin clearly said it was a positive and constructive conversation, with points of discussion including:
The fight against terrorism
The Middle East, and the Arab-Israeli conflict
Strategic stability, non-proliferation, and Iran's nuclear programme
North and South Korea
The situation in Ukraine
After the call Russia stated that "the two leaders emphasised that joining efforts in fighting the main threat - international terrorism - is a top priority," before adding "the Presidents spoke out for establishing real coordination of actions between Russia and the US aimed at defeating Islamic State and other terrorists groups in Syria."
It seems that among things that were not part of the conversation were the economic sanctions currently in place against Russia by the US, which have recently been the subject of much speculation.. Ever since Trump showed even the slightest chance of taking the Presidency, and coincidentally made a public point of endorsing Russia, many have been pondering the fate of Russia with respect to the USA and the West in general, prompting some discussion on whether or not the US are likely to lift the sanctions some time soon. Both UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Francois Hollande are said to have explicitly warned Trump against lifting Russian sanctions.
Whilst the sanctions themselves were not specifically mentioned, The Kremlin's statement did say that both parties "stressed the importance of rebuilding mutually beneficial trade" which, the Kremlin said, could aid the development of relations in other areas. Trade is, many would say, the fundamental endeavour that underpins any international relationship and Trump has previously expressed a clear wish to lift the sanctions in place against Russia. The tone of the call was said to be warm with Trump's office saying that the call was a start to improving the relationship between the two countries following the break-down in communication between Putin and Obama. Neither side mentioned hacking and both Presidents conveyed warm wishes and sympathy for the citizens of the other country.
Whilst Mr Trump's warmth towards President Putin was a controversial issue during the election campaign, things seem to have quietened down on that front, though members of Trump's own cabinet recently expressed some concern over Trump's willingness to engage with Russia, and many have spoken out, warning the new President to be careful in his dealing with Russia.
Syria is an ongoing issue likely to affect both the US and Russia and they are likely to talk further in order to come to terms of agreement on the matter. Whilst Russia considers all anti-Assad rebels in Syria as terrorist fighters, the previous US administration under Obama had supported some moderate rebel groups that are opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
Unlike The Kremlin, The White House did not offer any clarity on the items discussed, but rather issued a short statement saying: "Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern." The pair have also agreed to arrange a face-to-face meeting for a later date and have both pledged to stay in "regular personal contact".
Outspoken critic of Russia and Russian Policy, and chair of the Armed Services committee, Senator John McCain, warned Mr Trump about relaxing the sanctions currently in place against the Russians. "I hope President Trump will put an end to this speculation and reject such a reckless course,'' he said recently, adding: "If he does not, I will work with my colleagues to codify sanctions against Russia into law."
In addition another Republican senator, Rob Portman, said lifting sanctions would send "a dangerous message to a world already questioning the value of American leadership" after President Obama's term. It seems logical that the USA would want to at least reach out to see what Russia has to offer, and establish whether or not the country does have anything of benefit to bring to the table in terms of any mutual arrangement the two countries might make. It seems incredibly naive and hypocritical to outright refuse to engage with a country simply because of certain policies or beliefs the country has in place and it's good to see Trump acting in a way that's genuinely in keeping with the interests of his country. It's counter-productive to bar one's self from trading or cooperating with any country altogether, regardless of what that country stands for, or any past history with that country. Just because you don't agree with another person's viewpoint on absolutely everything, it doesn't mean you would immediately detach and distance yourself from them, rather you would focus on the common ground and work together in whatever ways you can to contribute towards mutual gain.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who said of Trump as he was about to enter the White House, “he has little political experience, but maybe it's good,” believes that Trump and Putin as leaders together could do great things. “Together, they could lead the world to peace" he told a reporter but has recently been back in the spotlight stressing the fact that any relation between the two nations could be precarious, and would need nurturing to make sure it goes in the right direction. “The world today is overwhelmed with problems,” Gorbachev writes in a recent essay, “policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss.” He added that some of the new problems facing the world are “the militarisation of politics and the new arms races. Tanks and weapons in Europe — placed closer to each other, as if to shoot point-blank. It all look as if the world is preparing for war."
Gorbachev's advice for the world is that they should act like he and former US President Ronald Reagan, whose cooperation and mutual disarmament may well have averted World War III. Commenting on it in his recent essay he says, “in the second half of the 1980s, together with the U.S., we launched a process of reducing nuclear weapons and lowering the nuclear threat.”
“Our interests coincided,” Gorbachev told The Washington Post in 2004 at Reagan's funeral, after giving the late President's coffin a solemn tap goodbye. “We both knew what kind of weapons we each had. There were mountains of nuclear weapons. A war could start not because of a political decision, but just because of some technical failure.”
Gorbachev is often credited with softening a totalitarian empire and making the Soviet Union more open and liberal while cutting its nuclear stockpiles as Reagan and the US did the same. Now, worried by the everyday signs he see that suggest peace is being undone across the world, he is calling on the Kremlin and White House's new occupants to join forces again and stop it, asking for “the presidents of two nations that hold over 90 percent of the world's nuclear arsenals” to push for a UN resolution condemning nuclear war.
But neither Trump nor Putin sound like they want his advice. On the day that Trump announced via Twitter that "the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability,” President Putin praised his own country's military actions in Syria and echoed Trump's call for a stronger nuclear arsenal. Whether or not more nuclear weapons is a good idea, I don't know, but it's good to see signs that US and Russia may be able to forge some kind of relationship.
For too long the West has had a policy of automatically distancing themselves from Russia on every single matter and attempting to discredit every single thing they do. UK and USA are just of guilty of interfering with the interests of other peoples and other countries as and when they feel the need to, and ultimately whether it's outwardly publicised or hidden beneath a thin veil of democratic impartiality, every country behaves in accordance with it's own needs and interests above all else, and only bothers to engage with another country when it is beneficial to them. So to be perfectly mature about things, we should just agree to stop taking such an interest in what other countries do, stop judging and condemning other countries, accept that we are in many instances just as bad as them, and be open to working with any country that can benefit us in some way. Of course there will be exceptions, but we should not blanket ban trade, military cooperation or any other type of relationship with a country just because of some partial infringement they may have committed with regards to a separate area of political interest that does not affect the other areas of interest which are of benefit to us.
Russia is a big country, with a strong army and a decent economy, and we could get a lot more out of them as a friend than as an enemy. Of course we need to be careful when dealing with them. Of course they can be a dangerous nation at times. Of course we need to bear in mind their motives and designs. But they would do well to be just as apprehensive. For anyone who immediately jumps to the position of prejudicing Russia as a country, straight-away labelling them a communist dictatorship that we should have nothing to do with- remember that China, as countries go, is as equally despicable as Russia yet we never bother criticising them- because of course we rely heavily on them. That's the hypocritical fickle face of politics for you. So let's hope that Trump sets a precedent for the US as far as relations with Russia go so that the UK can then follow suit. I imagine a continued relationship between the three of us could be a powerful thing and as we prepare to leave the EU at the same time that many of those in power in European countries are warning the US that lifting sanctions against Russia would create a rift between them, maybe we should be focusing more on our relationship with the US and Russia than the concerns of the EU member countries...
