How Russia Sees Obama

President-elect Barack Obama, with service members at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
Photo by Sgt. Jarod Perkioniemi / U.S. Army

How Tough-Talking Russia Sees Obama
-- U.S. News And World Report

Moscow lays down its political markers but doesn't want to upset business cooperation

MOSCOW—On Wednesday, when many world leaders hailed President-elect Barack Obama's victory in the polls, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wasn't quite as effusive. He announced that he might station missiles in the western Russian region of Kaliningrad and point them at a U.S. missile defense system planned for Eastern Europe.

But Medvedev's stridency only extends so far—and evidently not to business. On Friday, he attended the opening of a St. Petersburg factory run by Detroit-based General Motors.

The relationship between Russia and the United States, despite the fiery rhetoric, is ambiguous. Trade between the countries is healthy, and cooperation in some areas, such as space exploration, continues. That said, there's no doubt that diplomatic ties hit a low point over recent defense issues, particularly Russia's August conflict with Georgia, and that Obama faces a growing list of challenges.

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My Comment: Everyone is friendly for now ....