We can expect further attempts by Russia to frustrate U.S. policy over Syria. By defending Syria, Russia seeks to position itself as the champion of disadvantaged people against worldwide U.S. aggression, in this way becoming an equal of the U.S. This image resonates with the Russian people and is the perfect way to distract them from the pillaging of the Putin regime.
A real reset in U.S.-Russian relations would take into account Russian interference and indifference to U.S. security. Some bilateral agreements might be off the table -- at least temporarily. But all experience with Russia shows that the U.S. gains most in the long run when it treats Russia as it is rather than the country it would like it to be.
(David Satter is an adviser in Moscow to Radio Liberty and a fellow of the Hudson Institute and Johns Hopkins University. His latest book is “It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past.”)
Bloomberg view
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