Stephen Sestanovich
Interviewee:
Interviewer:
Russian President
Q. What happened in the meeting?
A. It focused on three separate topics. First the
Q. Because
A.
Q. And the third issue?
A. The third issue -- where something may be happening, but it's not yet clear what -- was missile defense. The U.S. side says they got "a new signal" on missile defense cooperation, suggesting that the Russians are interested in finding a way to cooperate on missile defense so that this doesn't become an issue that breaks the "reset" (the term used by Vice President
Q. How important is it to the U.S. missile defense plans that
A.
Q. That was a hot issue during the Bush administration. There's been improvement in the relations, but it's still a tough issue to crack.
A. The Russians' decision to go forward and seek cooperation apparently (began) last fall. What American officials refer to as Medvedev's "bold and historic contribution" to the
Q. Even though this new U.S. missile defense is not aimed at
A. The U.S. line is this isn't just a matter of our intentions and of our declarations and our pledges; it's a matter of physics. The U.S. capabilities being discussed and contemplated do not impact the Russian deterrence. But what the Russians say is, "Yes, but what if ten years from now, you might decide to go further?"
Q. Medvedev had some nice words to say about his relationship with Obama. What's going to happen when the Russians have their presidential elections in
A. It's completely unclear. Some people believe that Putin may not have made up his mind yet. But most people agree that it's Putin's mind that has to be made up and nobody else's. The administration has clearly liked the working relationship that has developed between Obama and Medvedev, and there would be some disappointment if they had to get used to a new guy -- that is to say if Putin came back -- but in diplomacy, one gets over these disappointments.
Q. What do polls say? Is Putin still the most popular?
A. Yes, but they track pretty closely: When Putin's popularity goes down, Medvedev's tends to go down too, and he is typically a couple of percentage points below Putin. Russian and Western observers have been waiting to see whether there would come a time when Medvedev's popularity would be greater than Putin's, but so far it hasn't happened. When Putin's popularity goes down, you might expect that some of that would shift to Medvedev, but apparently that's not the way Russians themselves see it. When they lose a little enthusiasm for the one guy, they lose it for the other. This may be a specific insight into their relationship.
Q. Is Russian politics still an authoritarian situation where Putin's
A.
One group of opposition figures led by former prime minister
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