Since the end of the Cold War, U.S foreign policy towards Russia has been uneasy. There have been several attempts to re-calibrate, re-set or whatever words you like to use, but none has quite worked. Americans cannot understand this. It is, in fact, quite straightforward.
For a good while after the collapse of the Soviet Union, America had a free hand in the world. Bush sen. failed to reach out to Yeltsin as much as he could have; Clinton missed opportunities as well, but in the round did more good than harm; Bush jun. was a disaster, not so much because of his attitude to Russia, but the drift of American policy in general. Essentially Russia gave America a free hand to see where it would lead. It lead to a big expansion of NATO without sufficient effort to bring Russia on board as well and calamitous military doctrines for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Russia has watched all this with interest. Moscow has no illusions. It knows that Russia will never now be the dominant world power, but it intends to show its weight at the top table. America, in Obama’s words, still talks about world leadership and has failed completely to see that the rest of the world no longer sees it in that role. It had its chance and blew it big time. Russia knows that; it does not seek to supplant America, but it wishes to be taken seriously as a partner. Putin uses the word partner in connection with the US all the time. Translated that means the US has to listen as well as tell.
Meanwhile America is in a mess on the diplomatic front in the hotspots. The emerging democracies about which the US cares so much, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, supposedly its natural allies, are all unstable and in various degrees of turmoil and government dysfunction. Yet its true allies, the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are all some form of monarchy or autocracy. Two very different democracies, but both founded on strict principles of faith and religion, Israel and Iran, are sworn enemies and torment each other by proxy.
Syria has been a disaster for the West. Not only have all the predictions proved wrong but the line up of so called free Syrians includes many to make the blood of rational people curdle. Al’Qaeda is technically its ally against Assad. This is a diplomatic position approaching farce. American lead Western policy in the middle east no longer has a coherent theme and to the rest of the world is beyond comprehension.
The Russian message is clear. America is a leading player, not the leader. Russia has accepted that it is no longer the leader and it feels now is the time for America to do the same. Because then the two working in partnership can do a very great deal in many different ways for the benefit of both, and for all of us.