A Russian Perspective on the Upcoming Clinton-Lavrov Meeting

This terribly metaphor-laden Russia Today segment previews a meeting on Friday between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The snippet excerpted from the Hillary Clinton speech is a nice example of how the new administration’s entire attitude toward Russia is a dramatic departure from the Bush years. The Bush administration would simultaneously press Moscow’s buttons on one matter and demand Russian cooperation on another. (EG, I’ll take a missile defense system in Poland AND your support for Iranian sanctions at the Security Council!)

Needless to say, kind of diplomatic posturing amounted to a pretty incoherent Russia policy — and had little to show for it. We will have to wait for the outcome of today’s meeting, but I think Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sending the right message when she says “we have to vigorously press the differences we have while searching for common ground wherever possible.”