Page 64 - bneMag bne_December 2020_20201201

64 Opinion bne December 2020
A rash of commentaries ahead of a Biden presidency are calling for a hardening on Russia, but Russia's leading analysts see an opportunity for a less confrontational foreign policy
STOLYPIN: Hawks in DC risk empowering their counterparts in Moscow
Mark Galeotti, director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence,
an honorary professor at UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a candidate in possession of the presidency, must be in want of a new Russia policy. (And people to advise on and apply it). Joseph Biden’s asymptotic election – always getting closer
to being recognised and locked in, never quite there – has generated the inevitable array of advocacy pieces and with it a rhetorical arms race, as commentators compete to be more trenchant, more insightful and, it seems, more hawkish.
Before the elections, the debate seemed to be encapsulated by two open letters published in Politico, each bearing the signatures of serried luminaries of the US scholar-practitioner field. The first, endorsed by such figures as Fiona Hill, 14 for- mer ambassadors (including 4 to Russia) and George Schultz, argued that America “must deal with Russia as it is, not as we wish it to be, fully utilising our strengths but open to diplo-
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macy,” balancing sanctions that are “judiciously targeted and used in conjunction with other elements of national power, especially diplomacy” with an understanding that “while maintaining our defence, we should also engage Russia in
a serious and sustained strategic dialogue that addresses the deeper sources of mistrust and hostility and at the same time focuses on the large and urgent security challenges facing both countries.”
The response characterised this as a call for another re-set – evoking Barack Obama’s ill-starred and ill-thought-through initiative during the Medvedev presidency – and instead argued that “the actions and behaviour of Vladimir Putin’s regime pose a threat to American interests and values, requiring strong pushback.” Instead, it calls for tougher sanctions, direct support for Russian civil society and in