The Gorbachev Foundation - Event Overview

The Roundtable meeting brought together people from the spheres of government, diplomacy, policy development, the military, journalism, science, and research, for the purpose of evaluating the current situation and making recommendations for future policy and action.

In response to growing concern about the state of US/Russian relations, the Gorbachev Foundation of North America (GFNA) has developed a program to study and monitor the situation, and to provide reports of findings to the public. The Roundtable meeting of April 6-7 that inaugurated this program brought together people from the spheres of government, diplomacy, policy development, the military, journalism, science, and research, for the purpose of evaluating the current situation and making recommendations for future policy and action. The countries represented by the participants included Russia, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A. President Gorbachev presided over the meeting on April 7th.

During the discussions, attention was drawn to the need to overcome the problems that have developed in US/Russian relations, and to find ways to recapture the hopes and expectations that were present in both societies a decade or so ago. The promise of a new, cooperative, and mutually beneficial partnership has not been fulfilled, and there is still considerable mistrust and suspicion on both sides. The lack of trust, and the tendentious view that each nation has of the other, was seen as a major barrier to better relations and something that we need to work hard to reduce or remove. We need to move beyond the view that there were winners and losers as a result of the end of the Cold War, since both the USA and USSR/Russia were responsible for its demise.

Recent meetings between President Putin, Prime Minister Blair, and President Clinton have shown a willingness to address the most pressing security issues of the day, and have laid the foundations for future political negotiations. Recent actions by the Russian Duma, and statements by both Russian and American leaders, also have opened up the possibility of progress in arms reduction and a reconsideration of existing treaties. But the foundations of Russia's relations with the U.S.A. and the European Community nations remain unchanged, and these are urgently in need of attention if a further deterioration in the new, post-Cold War era is to be averted.

The new configuration of power presents a challenge to both Russia and the USA. The loss of world power status has been traumatic for Russia, and the nation is still trying to define a new place for itself. The USA now holds a dominant position militarily and economically, but has yet to adjust its vision and its policies to the new reality. As new regional blocs emerge, as former client-state nations realign their interests, and as globalization becomes more established, the reaction against what is perceived as American hegemony is gaining strength. This will require new ways of thinking for the USA and for Russia, and the search for a new basis for their relationship. It is likely that Russia will become more and more a part of Europe, and that its relations with the USA will become less central to its concerns. This will require both nations to reevaluate the conditions of their relations, and to be clearer about areas of agreement and of divergent interests. The time is propitious for a reevaluation given that Russia has a new administration, and that in six months there will be a new administration in the USA.

There are a number of areas, however, in which action is urgently needed in order to avoid serious problems for the international community. Foremost among these is that of the National Missile Defense (NMD) program. The potential consequences of going ahead with this program without consideration for how other nations will interpret it are immense. There was a strong view among the majority of participants that the pursuit of this program needs to be put on hold until after the US elections, and that beyond that a political/security impact study needs to be carried out. This would also provide the time necessary to consider the creation of a global (instead of national) security program that would lessen the risks of additional nations joining the nuclear club and of starting a new arms race. During the ten years since the end of the Cold War, almost no attention has been given to the possibility of creating new, global security programs based on emerging technologies, or to ways in which former adversaries could be partners in mutually beneficial arrangements. In an age of increasing globalization, national programs of security are becoming less viable and need to de reconsidered.

A second area of importance is that of the role and future of NATO in a post-Cold War age. Created at a time when the balance of forces was very different, and when mutually antagonistic ideologies confronted each other, the organization has not given sufficient thought to its new situation, to its political as well as military future, or to its role in relation to the European Union, to the former Warsaw Pact countries, or to the new security configurations that are emerging. The state of US/Russian relations is central to such a reevaluation and to the improvement of national and global security interests.

Events of the last decade or two have made it increasingly clear that the separation between domestic and international issues is becoming weaker, and that positions taken for domestic political reasons can have negative implications for foreign relations (and therefore for domestic security concerns). For this reason, both Russia and the USA need to work to remove the mistrustful and antagonistic views that may be found among both political leaders and the general population. Areas of agreement and of mutual interest need to be made clear, and more balanced yet realistic views need to be supported. There is an important role in this regard for NGOs, for businesses, for opinion makers and intellectuals, and for educational institutions. Efforts to expand, strengthen, and focus the efforts of people in these areas need to be set in motion, and their activities need to be supported financially. While more immediate security and military issues need to be given priority, it is the activities of civil society that will create more cooperative relations in the long-term. In addition, trade barriers to Russia’s economic recovery need to be removed, and cooperative activities in the areas of science and technology need to be supported.

As a result of the Roundtable, GFNA will work to support an international team of experts and policy makers that will monitor US/Russian relations and assess the impacts of the actions and statements of each nation. The findings of this team will be made available to the public, and a yearly evaluation of the state of US/Russian relations will be issued. Small working groups will also be created to pursue some of the initiatives that came out of the Roundtable. The main initiatives discussed were as follows:

There should be a full analysis of not only technological factors but also of the impact of NMD on arms control agreements, the implied cost of NMD, and a careful evaluation of the threats to which NMD would be responding. There should also be an analysis of how we could develop a Global Missile Defense program based on international cooperation in developing, deploying, and jointly operating a system that could destroy missiles launched by accident or by inadvertent or unauthorized action. How could we change the focus from one of national security to one of global security based on cooperation? Such a change would recognize that security can not be defined in a global age in terms of national boundaries alone.

The relationship between Russia and the US was one of confrontation during the Cold War, but a new relationship must be developed, one that has not yet emerged in the post-Cold War world. This relationship should include a rethinking of diplomatic, political, security, and commercial ties. A high level committee of Russian and American experts should be convened to reconsider these relationships.

The relationships between Russia and both NATO and the EU should be reconsidered. If NATO, rather than the UN or the OSCE, is to be the basis for security in Europe, then Russia's role in NATO must be strengthened, including the possibility of Russia joining NATO in the future. The European Union’s relationships with Russia should be rethought in terms of political relations, commercial links, and technical assistance. How could these changes be brought about, and how could the USA contribute to this process?

There has to be a recognition of the mistakes in policy in Russia's attempted transition to a market economy, and of the massive economic depression that has resulted. How could the policies of the IMF and the World Bank be changed to assist in Russia’s recovery? A multi-national group should study the mistakes of the past and make specific recommendations for new policies to be pursued by Russia, by the US and the West, and by international organizations. How can illegal and corrupt practices that harm direct foreign investment in the Russian economy be eliminated?

Russia has a great potential in the area of in high technology which, if it could be commercialized, could make a major contribution to the Russian economy and play a major role in integrating Russia into the world economy. A feasibility study of this potential needs to be undertaken.

Russia had agreed during the Gorbachev administration to destroy its chemical weapons by bilateral agreement with the US. It has since signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention that also commits it to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons, the largest such stockpile in the world. It does not have the financial resources, however, to build the necessary incinerators, amounting to some $7 billion. Russia recently has requested international financial support to build these incinerators. Such support, provided in the form of financial support, technical support, or turnkey plants, would constitute an excellent investment in both national security of the US and Russia and, at the same time, a valuable contribution to global security. From the national vantage point of the US, providing the needed resources would be one of the most cost-effective ways to promote US national security.

While some nations of Central and East Europe have joined NATO and some are attempting to join the EU, they still have a special relationship with Russia that must be recognized. This relationship includes commercial and economic ties, political relations, and security interests. The US could play a useful role in making these relationships more constructive and mutually beneficial.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) can play a role in improving the relationships between Russia and the US. One way to do this is to help NGO's in both countries work with each other, and to help to fund their activities.

Student exchange programs are valuable ways to foster positive relationships between nations, and the number of Russian students in the US needs to be increased. More information should be available to Russian students about educational opportunities and exchanges, and more funding should be made available to support them. Programs that ensure that students return to Russia to apply their knowledge and skills to the nation's development need to be put in place.

A study needs to be done of the ways in which the media help shape public opinion in both Russia and the USA, and how coverage may be more balanced and realistic.