US Department of State
[Secretary Condoleezza Rice] Interview With Michele Kelemen of NPR
Washington, DC
December 9, 2008
QUESTION: I can’t I know, I want to I have to ask you a couple personal questions, but I if I could ask one about Russia, because you spent much of your academic career there and that’s where what we share our interest in.
SECRETARY RICE: Yes.
QUESTION: Whether you have regrets about where things are with Russia.
SECRETARY RICE: Well, I’m sorry that Russia didn’t take up what was an open invitation from the United States and Europe to be a part of an international community, a transatlantic space that was built on 21st century values and assets, not on 19th century ones. But I think we’ve also got a lot to be proud of in what we’ve achieved with Russia: a global nuclear terrorism pact, real cooperation on the Middle East, real cooperation on North Korea, cooperation on Iran which produced four Security Council resolutions. So a lot the Moscow Treaty which significantly reduced the number of deployed warheads on both sides. So there are also a lot of good things that have happened with Russia.
But as to Russia’s periphery, that’s where there have been differences. And here, I have to say that the unity of the United States and Europe in response to what happened in Georgia has made it impossible for Russia to achieve its strategic goals. The Georgian Government is intact. Georgian democracy is intact. Georgia has been given incredible resources from the international community for rebuilding its territory. And it’s Russia’s motives and behavior that are being questioned worldwide. So I think Russia didn’t achieve very much and it lost a lot concerning Georgia, and perhaps that will deter them from that kind of action again.