Obama's 'Window of Opportunity' for Improved Russia, EU Ties

Charles A. Kupchan, CFR senior fellow for Europe studies and a professor of international relations at Georgetown University, says that because of Obama's "popularity and the departure of President Bush," there is a "window of opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Russia and between the United States and the European Union." But on the contentious issue of the deployment of missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, which has riled the Russians, Kupchan thinks the Obama administration will not cancel the project. There will, however, "be a deliberation about when and how to deploy such a system, and that might involve moving at a slower timetable to ensure that the technology is ready," Kupchan says.

There's great interest in Europe and Russia on what the Obama administration's policies will be in that part of the world. What do you think will happen?

Because of Barack Obama's popularity and the departure of President Bush, there is a window of opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Russia and between the United States and the European Union. The Obama administration is already, in its second day in office, taking steps to improve its relations with the Europeans by immediately moving to take action on closing the internment camp at Guantanamo Bay. This is an issue that has rankled trans-Atlantic relations for a long time. On the specific issue of dealing with Russia, it's a work in progress, and the Obama administration will have to do some serious thinking about how to alter its approach to the Russians and how to close the gap that has opened between European and American views on whether to engage Russia, particularly in the aftermath of the war in Georgia last August.

The war in Georgia, of course, cost...

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