US Officials See Difficult Period in US-Russia
Relations
By Dan Robinson
Voice of America
September 9, 2008
Lawmakers on the House and Senate
foreign affairs committees closely questioned U.S.
officials Tuesday about future relations with Russia
in the wake of the war between Russia
and Georgia.
VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, the United States is carefully reviewing how to help
Georgia rebuild its military
with a package of economic aid to Georgia already pledged.
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel
Fried says it is in U.S.
interests to help Georgia
recover economically, stabilize and restore its sovereignty and territorial
integrity, and address what he called "legitimate military needs".
With a $1 billion economic aid
package pledged by Washington, he said the United States is working with NATO and is
sending a Defense Department team to Georgia to help determine what form
appropriate military assistance would take.
"We are going to make a careful
assessment of Georgia's
needs," said Daniel Fried. "We are going to think about what the
appropriate response is to those needs, and we will be discussing that on a
separate track."
Fried and Undersecretary of Defense
for Policy, Eric Edelman used strong language in characterizing the challenges
ahead in U.S.-Russian relations.
Russia must be prevented from drawing a
new line in Europe, said Fried, while Edelman asserted that Moscow's
relations with Washington, and the world, have
reached a crossroads, adding that Russia must decide how it wants to
be seen by the world.
"The international community
has resolutely rejected Russian aggression," said Eric Edelman. "Russia's future actions, including those it
takes in the coming weeks and months in Georgia,
will continue to define how it is viewed in the world and how the world defines
and moves forward with Russia. We hope that on sober reflection Russia will
choose a different path, but our policy will respond appropriately to Russian
actions."
Democratic Representative Howard
Berman, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked these questions
about a potential military aid package:
"Will it be basic replenishment
of armaments damaged in the recent conflict?
Will it allow Georgia
the ability to participate in foreign missions such as Iraq, or will
it provide the capacity for self-defense in case of future attacks? Given the asymmetrical nature of the Russian
and Georgian forces, just what kind of arms could possibly give Tiblisi the ability to defend itself from future
incursions?," asked Congressman Berman.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Chairman, Democrat Carl Levin, says American officials must determine where
U.S-Russia relations go in light of Russian military assertiveness in Georgia.
"What is the right balance to
strike in terms between signaling to Russia that its claims of a sphere of
influence which override the sovereignty of its neighbors are unacceptable,
while keeping the door open to Russian integration into the broader
international community, and working with Russia in areas where our strategic
interests are aligned, such as preventing a nuclear Iran, or [in]
counter-terrorism efforts?," asked Senator Levin.
Republican Representative Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen says Georgia's
future and that of the entire region depends on how the United States
and members of the European Union react in coming months.
"Will there be
claims that parts of Ukraine
rightfully belong in Russia? Will there be pressure on the Baltic states, where so many
ethnic Russians live? Will northern Kazakhstan and
its large population of ethnic Russians become an issue? Will Russian troops ever leave the
independent country of Moldova
which has sought their withdrawal for many years," said Congresswoman
Ros-Lehtinen.
But other members of congress pointed
to Georgian actions in South Ossetia that played a role in provoking a strong
Russian military response in Georgia.
In the House of Representatives,
Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee say the U.S. must preserve its ability to work with Russia.
Rohrabacher: "We have been just
pushing the Russians and pushing the Russians, making them into an enemy when
they at first wanted to be friends."
Lee: "Our friends in Russia are as important as our friends in Georgia. We must find a balance. We can sit here and accuse. Yes, I believe that Georgia was
aggressive. At the same time, Russia is huge
and growing. Let us find a way to create
peace and opportunity."
Assistant Secretary Fried told
lawmakers on Tuesday that while the United States
does not seek a bad relationship with Russia, in his words, "Until
Russia's leaders change their path the two countries may be in for a difficult
period."