An employee at a petroleum refinery in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The industry is crucial to the prime minister’s plans. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg News
Oil Prices Fueling Russia's Disruption of U.S. Foreign Policy -- Chicago Tribune/U.S. News And World Report
Russia's burgeoning oil and natural gas exports are underwriting Russian efforts to regain status as a world superpower
Russia, once an old foe, is again proving to be a major obstacle for America's foreign interests, and will continue to be a thorn in the country's side as long as oil prices remain high.
Russian leaders have the Obama administration's efforts to pressure Iran into giving up its nuclear weapons ambitions difficult at every turn. Moscow has also joined China in rejecting a U.N. measure that would strike a diplomatic blow to Syrian president Bashir al-Assad, frustrating White House officials.
Read more ....
My Comment: Russian government policy is more focused on Russian internal domestic issues .... not it's relationship with the U.S.. What I expect from a Putin third term are increasing pensions and salaries for Russians, infrastructure, military modernization, and reforms in the economic system .... primarily legal and regulatory .... and to avoid situations like this.
Update: A good article on why the oil industry is important to Putin is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment