Medvedev ready to push “reset” button with US

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says he is ready to reinvigorate relations with Washington ahead of US President Barack Obama’s first summit meeting in Moscow.

Speaking on his internet blog, Medvedev said he was ready to push the reset button: “The new US administration headed by President Obama is now showing that it is ready to change the situation and build more effective, more reliable and in the end more modern relations and we are ready for this.”

However, Russia’s military offensive in Georgia, NATO expansion plans and US proposals for a missile shield in Eastern Europe may all put a spanner in the works:

“Russia has negative priorities, so-called “red lines”, such as NATO enlargement that might include Georgia or Ukraine, and Russia would absolutely not want this to happen or American plans to deploy elements of its anti-missile defence system in central Europe.” said Maria Lipman, an analyst at the Carnegie Institute in Moscow.

Analysts say, despite its anti-American rhetoric, Moscow does not want a real confrontation with Washington.

If anything, the summit may serve to help prevent a further worsening in relations.

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