Skeptical of Russia, Clinton seen going toe-to-toe with Putin
Clinton's 'reset' belied deep doubts on Putin
02:26
By Warren Strobel and Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON
When Hillary Clinton attended her first major White House meeting on Russia in February 2009, the new secretary of state insisted that she wanted to play a leading role in President Barack Obama’s effort to "reset" U.S. relations with Moscow.
But while Clinton became implementer-in-chief for one of Obama’s signature first-term initiatives, she was consistently more skeptical than most of his top aides about how far Russian leader Vladimir Putin was prepared to go in turning the page, according to current and former U.S. officials.
That stance is indicative of how she would go about dealing with Moscow if she is elected U.S. president on Nov. 8, aides to both Clinton and Obama told Reuters.
With U.S. relations with Moscow already plumbing post-Cold War lows, the aides and veteran Russia watchers said she would likely take a harder line than Obama or Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has praised Putin as a strong leader.
Dealing with Putin, who is flexing his geopolitical muscle from Ukraine to Syria to cyberspace, will be among Clinton's biggest foreign policy challenges -- one made more daunting by the personal bad blood between them.
Jake Sullivan, a former top State Department aide and now senior Clinton campaign advisor, said Clinton could consider the shipping of lethal arms to Ukraine government forces and the creation of no-fly or safe zones in Syria. Obama has rejected both ideas.
While such moves could further stoke tensions and might even face resistance from some U.S. allies, Sullivan said in an interview with Reuters that Clinton could manage ties with Russia effectively because Putin would "respect her as U.S. president, her strength, her clarity, her predictability."
According to current and former Clinton advisers, she could consider other policy moves such as stiffer sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and doing more to wean Russia’s neighbors off reliance on Moscow’s energy supplies.
Russia is watching warily.
"She is not perceived by many people as the Kremlin's preferred candidate," said Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a think tank close to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Many here believe that she would be tougher on Russia than Obama," he said.
Clinton’s first fence-mending effort in March 2009 was not so much a show of strength than of diplomatic clumsiness. She handed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a red button that was supposed to have the word "reset" on it. Instead, it was labeled with the Russian word meaning "overcharged."
Clinton’s distrust of Putin deepened, mirrored by his growing list of grievances against her.
By the time she prepared to leave the State Department in early 2013, former officials said, she wrote at least two confidential memos to Obama urging a more hard-nosed approach. At the time, many in the president's inner circle were not convinced the reset had run its course, they said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the arrival ceremony for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vladivostok, Russia on September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool/File Photo
Since Clinton’s departure, Putin has reasserted Russia on the world stage, seizing Ukraine’s Crimea region and intervening militarily in Syria’s civil war. U.S. officials have linked the hacking of Democratic Party computers to the Russian government – which the Kremlin denies.
"NOT AS IF SHE WENT GRUMPILY"
Like most national security policies under Obama, the attempt to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations was managed from the White House by the president himself, along with aides from his 2008 campaign, including Russia specialist Michael McFaul.
"No one should pretend that this wasn’t an Obama-driven policy," said Philip Gordon, Clinton's top Europe adviser at the State Department. "But it’s also not as if she went grumpily to the table and was told by the president 'you’re doing it' ... She thought it had logic."
McFaul, who later became ambassador to Russia, said in an interview that from the first White House meeting on Russia in early 2009 Clinton was skeptical of the prospects for transforming U.S.-Russian relations in a way that "some of us aspired to back then."
Two other officials backed up his account.
The first fruits of the reset were promising.
Putin had - temporarily, it turned out - stepped down as president, with the younger, reform-minded Dmitry Medvedev in his place.
Obama and Medvedev signed a new strategic nuclear arms control pact, cooperated to sanction Iran for its nuclear program and agreed to let U.S. troops and equipment transit Russia to support a American military "surge" in Afghanistan.
But after little more than two years, the "reset" ran out of steam. By mid-2011, it was clear that Putin was returning to the presidency.
A DECADE OF BROADSIDES
Clinton first met Putin at his residence outside Moscow in March 2010. She persuaded him to back tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran, according to two people with knowledge of the session.
In front of the TV cameras, however, Putin railed against U.S. trade and economic policies as Clinton watched.
Clinton and Putin have been exchanging broadsides for nearly a decade.
Putin, a former KGB agent, "doesn't have a soul," Clinton quipped on the eve of the 2008 New Hampshire presidential primary, riffing off of President George W. Bush’s comment seven years earlier that he had looked into Putin's eyes and seen his soul.
The Russian leader retorted: "At a minimum, a head of state should have a head."
A U.S. official who was involved in Russia policymaking said Clinton sometimes chose her words poorly, inflaming Russian resentment over its perceived post-Cold War humiliation, a nationalist strain that Putin has long used to his advantage.
"She played into that," said the official, who requested anonymity.
The most serious rift of Clinton’s tenure occurred in late 2011, as crowds filled the streets of Russian cities protesting parliamentary elections marred by allegations of voting fraud.
Clinton, in a statement approved by the White House, called the election "neither free nor fair." Putin, who was preparing to retake the presidency, accused her of trying to foment a new Russian revolution. A steady slide in contacts between Clinton and the Russian leadership and in overall relations followed.
"Secretary Clinton's views on Russia were always a little harder-edged than President Obama's," said John Beyrle, Obama's first ambassador to Moscow. That partly reflected a "splitting up of responsibilities," he said. Obama cooperated with Medvedev; Clinton grappled with Lavrov and Putin.
Some Russia watchers say Clinton's record was mixed.
"The reset was the right approach," said Thomas Graham, former Russia adviser under Bush’s Republican administration. But he faulted Clinton and Obama's team for not doing more to "actively reach out to Putin and open lines of communication."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-russia-idUSKCN11Q0EY
Clinton's 'reset' belied deep doubts on Putin
02:26
By Warren Strobel and Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON
When Hillary Clinton attended her first major White House meeting on Russia in February 2009, the new secretary of state insisted that she wanted to play a leading role in President Barack Obama’s effort to "reset" U.S. relations with Moscow.
But while Clinton became implementer-in-chief for one of Obama’s signature first-term initiatives, she was consistently more skeptical than most of his top aides about how far Russian leader Vladimir Putin was prepared to go in turning the page, according to current and former U.S. officials.
That stance is indicative of how she would go about dealing with Moscow if she is elected U.S. president on Nov. 8, aides to both Clinton and Obama told Reuters.
With U.S. relations with Moscow already plumbing post-Cold War lows, the aides and veteran Russia watchers said she would likely take a harder line than Obama or Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has praised Putin as a strong leader.
Dealing with Putin, who is flexing his geopolitical muscle from Ukraine to Syria to cyberspace, will be among Clinton's biggest foreign policy challenges -- one made more daunting by the personal bad blood between them.
Jake Sullivan, a former top State Department aide and now senior Clinton campaign advisor, said Clinton could consider the shipping of lethal arms to Ukraine government forces and the creation of no-fly or safe zones in Syria. Obama has rejected both ideas.
While such moves could further stoke tensions and might even face resistance from some U.S. allies, Sullivan said in an interview with Reuters that Clinton could manage ties with Russia effectively because Putin would "respect her as U.S. president, her strength, her clarity, her predictability."
According to current and former Clinton advisers, she could consider other policy moves such as stiffer sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and doing more to wean Russia’s neighbors off reliance on Moscow’s energy supplies.
Russia is watching warily.
"She is not perceived by many people as the Kremlin's preferred candidate," said Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, a think tank close to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Many here believe that she would be tougher on Russia than Obama," he said.
Clinton’s first fence-mending effort in March 2009 was not so much a show of strength than of diplomatic clumsiness. She handed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a red button that was supposed to have the word "reset" on it. Instead, it was labeled with the Russian word meaning "overcharged."
Clinton’s distrust of Putin deepened, mirrored by his growing list of grievances against her.
By the time she prepared to leave the State Department in early 2013, former officials said, she wrote at least two confidential memos to Obama urging a more hard-nosed approach. At the time, many in the president's inner circle were not convinced the reset had run its course, they said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the arrival ceremony for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vladivostok, Russia on September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool/File Photo
Since Clinton’s departure, Putin has reasserted Russia on the world stage, seizing Ukraine’s Crimea region and intervening militarily in Syria’s civil war. U.S. officials have linked the hacking of Democratic Party computers to the Russian government – which the Kremlin denies.
"NOT AS IF SHE WENT GRUMPILY"
Like most national security policies under Obama, the attempt to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations was managed from the White House by the president himself, along with aides from his 2008 campaign, including Russia specialist Michael McFaul.
"No one should pretend that this wasn’t an Obama-driven policy," said Philip Gordon, Clinton's top Europe adviser at the State Department. "But it’s also not as if she went grumpily to the table and was told by the president 'you’re doing it' ... She thought it had logic."
McFaul, who later became ambassador to Russia, said in an interview that from the first White House meeting on Russia in early 2009 Clinton was skeptical of the prospects for transforming U.S.-Russian relations in a way that "some of us aspired to back then."
Two other officials backed up his account.
The first fruits of the reset were promising.
Putin had - temporarily, it turned out - stepped down as president, with the younger, reform-minded Dmitry Medvedev in his place.
Obama and Medvedev signed a new strategic nuclear arms control pact, cooperated to sanction Iran for its nuclear program and agreed to let U.S. troops and equipment transit Russia to support a American military "surge" in Afghanistan.
But after little more than two years, the "reset" ran out of steam. By mid-2011, it was clear that Putin was returning to the presidency.
A DECADE OF BROADSIDES
Clinton first met Putin at his residence outside Moscow in March 2010. She persuaded him to back tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran, according to two people with knowledge of the session.
In front of the TV cameras, however, Putin railed against U.S. trade and economic policies as Clinton watched.
Clinton and Putin have been exchanging broadsides for nearly a decade.
Putin, a former KGB agent, "doesn't have a soul," Clinton quipped on the eve of the 2008 New Hampshire presidential primary, riffing off of President George W. Bush’s comment seven years earlier that he had looked into Putin's eyes and seen his soul.
The Russian leader retorted: "At a minimum, a head of state should have a head."
A U.S. official who was involved in Russia policymaking said Clinton sometimes chose her words poorly, inflaming Russian resentment over its perceived post-Cold War humiliation, a nationalist strain that Putin has long used to his advantage.
"She played into that," said the official, who requested anonymity.
The most serious rift of Clinton’s tenure occurred in late 2011, as crowds filled the streets of Russian cities protesting parliamentary elections marred by allegations of voting fraud.
Clinton, in a statement approved by the White House, called the election "neither free nor fair." Putin, who was preparing to retake the presidency, accused her of trying to foment a new Russian revolution. A steady slide in contacts between Clinton and the Russian leadership and in overall relations followed.
"Secretary Clinton's views on Russia were always a little harder-edged than President Obama's," said John Beyrle, Obama's first ambassador to Moscow. That partly reflected a "splitting up of responsibilities," he said. Obama cooperated with Medvedev; Clinton grappled with Lavrov and Putin.
Some Russia watchers say Clinton's record was mixed.
"The reset was the right approach," said Thomas Graham, former Russia adviser under Bush’s Republican administration. But he faulted Clinton and Obama's team for not doing more to "actively reach out to Putin and open lines of communication."
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-russia-idUSKCN11Q0EY
Today at 8:08 am by Rocky
» MM&C 4/25/24 National Bank of Iraq goes live with Temenos core banking and payments
Today at 8:06 am by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/26/24 Iraqi Dinar - US Treasury Exchange Rates- Focus - Banking Partnerships - Rate C
Today at 8:06 am by Rocky
» A banking official indicates a "danger" to Iraq by depriving more than half of its banks of dollars
Today at 7:55 am by Rocky
» With the participation of the Association of Private Banks, investment opportunities are on the tabl
Today at 7:45 am by Rocky
» Within a month... an Iranian border crossing recorded a noticeable increase in exports of goods to I
Today at 7:44 am by Rocky
» The Association of Private Banks appreciates the efforts of the government and the Central Bank to c
Today at 7:43 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki's coalition presents a third candidate for the position of governor of Diyala
Today at 6:57 am by Rocky
» Arab gathering: The Kirkuk problem is getting complicated and the Sudanese must intervene
Today at 6:56 am by Rocky
» Next week.. a Kurdish delegation will visit Baghdad to meet with the Minister of Finance
Today at 6:54 am by Rocky
» Under the pretext of salaries... Al-Party refrains from handing over port revenues to Baghdad
Today at 6:53 am by Rocky
» Association of Banks: For the first time, we are witnessing a clear targeting of depriving half of t
Today at 6:51 am by Rocky
» Parliament does not know the reason for the delay in sending the 2024 budget schedules: Voting takes
Today at 6:49 am by Rocky
» Applicants for the 2024 Hajj are demanding that the Central Bank secure the dollar for them through
Today at 5:09 am by Rocky
» Governmental and private banks will showcase their services tomorrow during Financial Inclusion Week
Today at 5:08 am by Rocky
» Iraq's oil exports rise despite OPEC+ cuts
Today at 5:06 am by Rocky
» A study explodes a "surprise"... Iraq is among the countries that export oil to "Israel": How is the
Today at 5:04 am by Rocky
» Al-Araji emphasizes working to strengthen national identity
Today at 5:02 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani visits Saudi Arabia to participate in the World Economic Forum in Riyadh
Today at 5:01 am by Rocky
» Iraq is talking about producing one million additional liters of gasoline
Today at 4:59 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers approves the implementation of the Baghdad Metro project
Today at 4:56 am by Rocky
» Minister of Commerce: We formed a joint economic committee with Türkiye
Today at 4:55 am by Rocky
» Resources: Government measures have contributed to improving the water situation in Iraq
Today at 4:53 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: Baghdad will continue to send salaries to the region’s employees until settle
Today at 4:51 am by Rocky
» A parliamentarian describes the corruption of Iraqi ports as “ghouls” and reveals the involvement of
Today at 4:49 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Hour: Basra is the subject of political conflict and ambiguity over the fate of the funds al
Today at 4:48 am by Rocky
» Turkmen leader: An agreement on the local government of Kirkuk is near
Today at 4:45 am by Rocky
» Anbar calls for the operation of its factories despite financial obstacles
Today at 4:44 am by Rocky
» Turki: The crisis of the Presidency of Parliament prompted the Sunnis to amend the Council’s interna
Today at 4:43 am by Rocky
» The Agriculture Committee confirms the existence of Iraqi-Turkish-Iranian discussions on water
Today at 4:42 am by Rocky
» Resources diagnose the challenges facing the water file in Iraq
Today at 4:38 am by Rocky
» Parliament pledges to the Interior Ministry: We will transfer money to buy weapons from citizens
Today at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Al-Issawi is the closest.. Parliament sets the date for deciding the choice of the new president
Today at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Deputy: Iraq's investments have risen and need a comprehensive review of previous years
Today at 4:30 am by Rocky
» Iraqis consume 7 billion eggs annually and import about $900 million
Today at 4:28 am by Rocky
» The Iranian role complicates attempts at open cooperation between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey is trying
Today at 4:26 am by Rocky
» Move in Iran to obtain $242 billion from Iraq in compensation for the eight-year war
Today at 4:25 am by Rocky
» 12 decisions from the Council of Ministers regarding the Baghdad Metro and Najaf-Karbala train proje
Today at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Sudanese Advisor: The path to development has begun... the Baka and the militias “we silence them wi
Today at 4:21 am by Rocky
» Not from Kurdistan.. How did Iraq become a source of oil for “Israeli tanks”?
Today at 4:19 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Agriculture criticizes the Sudanese and Erdogan agreement: Türkiye will control water
Today at 4:16 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi government issues new decisions
Yesterday at 2:35 pm by Rocky
» The story of “reduced oil” to Jordan, from “compulsion” to mutual benefit.. Is there a loss?
Yesterday at 2:33 pm by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers takes 12 decisions for the Baghdad Metro and the Najaf-Karbala train
Yesterday at 2:32 pm by Rocky
» utube MM&C 4/23/24 Iraqi Dinar - IQD Update - Development Road Project - Saviour of Global Banking
Yesterday at 10:18 am by Rocky
» Kidney from pig transplanted into deathly ill New Jersey woman — and begins working almost immediat
Yesterday at 10:15 am by Bama Diva
» The most difficult option.. Warnings of the danger of floating the Iraqi dinar without achieving an
Yesterday at 9:48 am by Rocky
» Trade from the “Economic Committee” with Türkiye: It will overcome all obstacles facing the traders
Yesterday at 9:46 am by Rocky
» Washington's hope for stable relations with Baghdad clashes with Iraqi parties' rejection of the Ame
Yesterday at 9:41 am by Rocky
» Karim Badr: Development is America’s will to kill silk
Yesterday at 9:36 am by Rocky
» Oil: Opening of a new port for liquid gas for vehicles in Baghdad
Yesterday at 9:33 am by Rocky
» A media advisor warns of corruption in a draft law on the Parliament’s agenda
Yesterday at 9:21 am by Rocky
» Economist: There is serious work to lift US sanctions on Iraqi banks
Yesterday at 9:16 am by Rocky
» Will the agreements signed with the US Treasury reflect positively on the exchange rates?
Yesterday at 7:52 am by Rocky
» Iraq continues its quest to join the World Trade Organization
Yesterday at 7:51 am by Rocky
» Iraq completes the completion of the files for the initial offer of goods and services to join the W
Yesterday at 7:50 am by Rocky
» Economist: Travelers' dollars are leaking into the parallel market...and this is what the Central Ba
Yesterday at 7:32 am by Rocky
» President of the Federal Court: It is not permissible to force anyone to join any party, and the pol
Yesterday at 7:30 am by Rocky
» The Council of Ministers holds its session headed by Al-Sudani
Yesterday at 7:27 am by Rocky
» America weakens Baghdad...and increases Kurdistan's military capabilities
Yesterday at 7:26 am by Rocky
» The Iraqi government plans to build 10,000 schools throughout the country
Yesterday at 7:23 am by Rocky
» American threats close the Iraqi Stock Exchange at a loss
Yesterday at 7:21 am by Rocky
» Increase in external transfers at the Central Bank
Yesterday at 7:20 am by Rocky
» Al-Maliki calls on Britain to cancel restrictions on the entry of its companies into Iraq
Yesterday at 7:18 am by Rocky
» Planning and the European Union are discussing signing a number of agreements in the development, en
Yesterday at 7:16 am by Rocky
» Parliament talks about the mechanism for recovering smuggled funds and hints at the next stage
Yesterday at 7:13 am by Rocky
» Interior Ministry: The number of completed national cards reached 37 million cards
Yesterday at 7:06 am by Rocky
» Amnesty International: Violations of freedom and human rights continue in Iraq and the Kurdistan Reg
Yesterday at 7:04 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil: The government is proceeding with the decision to raise the price of improved gas
Yesterday at 7:03 am by Rocky
» A parliamentary committee in Basra to investigate violations of the port company and the local gover
Yesterday at 7:00 am by Rocky
» Revealing the 10 most important American exports to Iraq
Yesterday at 5:31 am by Rocky
» A noticeable increase in the rate of Iraq's import of Chinese cooling devices
Yesterday at 5:30 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister: Working on projects without completing the infrastructure is a waste of money
Yesterday at 5:28 am by Rocky
» Iraq.. Extending the deadline for registration procedures on plots of land
Yesterday at 5:27 am by Rocky
» What is the main purpose of conducting the population census in Iraq?
Yesterday at 5:25 am by Rocky
» A plan to transform Iraq from a barren land to green with 5 million trees
Yesterday at 5:24 am by Rocky
» The Housing Fund announces the acceptance of more than 11 thousand loans through the Ur platform
Yesterday at 5:23 am by Rocky
» The Bank of Baghdad is moving to increase its capital to 400 billion dinars
Yesterday at 5:20 am by Rocky
» The electronic payment system will soon be adopted on Iraqi buses
Yesterday at 5:19 am by Rocky
» “It threatens our interests and destroys our economy.” An Iraqi project “irritates” the Kuwaiti stre
Yesterday at 5:18 am by Rocky
» Warning from the Central Bank about “misuse of electronic payment cards”
Yesterday at 5:17 am by Rocky
» Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman are discussing sending capacities through the Gulf countries
Yesterday at 5:16 am by Rocky
» The fact that a decision was issued to deport Syrian workers from Iraq
Yesterday at 5:14 am by Rocky
» Rice comes first... America exports 10 foodstuffs worth more than 350 million dollars to Iraq
Yesterday at 5:14 am by Rocky
» A sixth licensing round for gas exploration
Yesterday at 5:12 am by Rocky
» Baghdad is preparing to host the 50th session of the Arab Labor Conference
Yesterday at 5:11 am by Rocky
» Scientific symposium on the future vision of the tripartite budget
Yesterday at 5:09 am by Rocky
» Five conversion power stations enter service in Najaf
Yesterday at 5:08 am by Rocky
» Planning: Conduct a population census next November
Yesterday at 5:07 am by Rocky
» Experts: Spreading misleading information harms development and investment
Yesterday at 5:03 am by Rocky
» Economists call for tightening money laundering laws and port controls
Yesterday at 5:02 am by Rocky
» Today's newspapers are interested in Sudanese's visit to Anbar Governorate and preparations for cond
Yesterday at 5:00 am by Rocky
» Iraq and Russia discuss cooperation between the two countries in the field of information and artifi
Yesterday at 4:58 am by Rocky
» With international and Arab participation. Diyala University hosts the International Specialized Sci
Yesterday at 4:56 am by Rocky
» The Basra government discusses with a UN delegation support for owners of qualified companies to est
Yesterday at 4:49 am by Rocky
» Oil stabilizes amid signs of an economic slowdown in America
Yesterday at 4:48 am by Rocky
» More than 11 thousand loans announced by the Housing Fund via the Ur platform
Yesterday at 4:47 am by Rocky
» A parliamentarian talks about the "tsunami of multinational begging" and identifies their crossing p
Yesterday at 4:43 am by Rocky
» Iraq alone possesses 9% of the world's reserves...a magical material to stimulate agriculture and th
Yesterday at 4:40 am by Rocky