April 4, 2025
Hanna Notte
The following is an excerpt from the Financial Times.
Last week’s US-Russia talks on a Black Sea ceasefire with Ukraine confirmed Moscow’s interest in a reset with Washington. In a statement published afterwards, the Kremlin expressed satisfaction with the gradual improvement in relations with Washington, even as it raised doubts over the extent of their alignment on the details of the truce.
The last time Russia and the US tried a reset was in 2009, under presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. But today Russia has no interest in dusting off its playbook from back then. It has more patience, less goodwill and an altogether different measure of success.
In 2009, the Kremlin’s wish list was ambitious. Badly hit by recession, Russia hoped for American investment in the country’s economic modernisation. Medvedev also wanted Washington’s support for Russia’s WTO accession, an agreement on European missile defence systems, and progress on arms control.
Continue reading at the Financial Times.
