#8
Financial Times (UK)
November 19, 2001
Editorial
Seeking the beef at the barbecue
Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush want to be the best of friends. Of that there can be little doubt after their summit meetings and neighbourly barbecue in Texas last week. But putting solid substance into the cheery style is a tougher proposition.
Some original thinking is needed in America, Russia and in western Europe. Closer links call into question a lot of assumptions, especially about the Nato alliance and European security.
Mr Bush had been talking about the need for better relations with Moscow for many months. He is seeking ways to overcome Russia's opposition to his plans for missile defence. Mr Putin wants to preserve the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, the last vestige of Moscow's superpower status, which forbids the testing of missile defence. But he also wants to be a welcome guest in Washington.
September 11 has greatly accelerated the trend towards accommodation. It confirmed the Russian leader in his turn to the west. His support for the campaign against terrorism has contributed to the swift demise of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Apart from warm words, Washington's main response so far has been to delay the planned testing of missile defence, which would have meant unilaterally abrogating the ABM treaty. That was an important gesture but the two sides have yet to find a mutually acceptable way of either amending the treaty to allow testing, or agreeing to scrap it.
Mr Putin is not going to be an easy pushover. His military advisers remain suspicious of Washington and its allies. But he has cast his die for the west. It is up to Mr Bush to respond. Going slow on missile defence is part of it. Another way is to bind Moscow more closely to Nato. A third is to accelerate the membership process for Russia in the world economic system - and the World Trade Organisation in particular.
The ideas circulated last week by Tony Blair represent a good start. The prime minister would bolster Russia's participation in the political side of Nato, without opening up its military part. A joint Russia-North Atlantic council would consider issues such as Balkan peacekeeping, co-operation in the fight against terrorism and curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as collaboration in defence modernisation.
That is certainly in the right direction. But efforts so far to get Russia more closely involved in Nato's political debates have made little progress. Old and new members of the alliance are suspicious of dismantling the old order. In the end, a new European security treaty may be needed.
On WTO membership, the problem lies primarily in Russia. Economic reform has not gone far enough to make Russian industry competitive. Nor is the judicial system reliable or transparent. Imposing WTO rules swiftly could cause havoc in the Russian economy.
Tackling these questions will require close three-way collaboration between the US, Russia and the rest of Europe. Mr Bush must counter the suspicion that he wants his European allies to embrace Russia more closely - and pay for it - to enable him to go ahead with missile defence at home. He must invite his partners to the barbecue, too.
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