Expert: US and Russia can cooperate on fundamental issues

World
Europe

04:38

Vladimir Putin has been sworn in for his fourth term as Russian president. Given the tensions between the US and Russia, it is a good idea for the US to cooperate with him, said Paolo von Schirach, president of the Global Policy Institute, a public policy research firm.

Paolo said the relationship between the two countries is not very good. There are many irritations clouding the atmosphere.

He said there is a whole issue of Ukraine, with the US, the European Union (EU) and others, as well as proposed sanctions to punish Russia for its actions in Crimea. There is also a significant division, if we outlook at policies in Syria. Clearly the US and Russia are on opposing sides of the divide.

In his mind, the two counties are bound by arms limitation talks. There is no movement on the issue. He said it could be long term topic of disturbance if the two countries don’t come together to reaffirm limits on their strategic weapons.

He believes a new arms race could begin between the two countries, since Putin has recently discussed a new generation of weapons and other things. It will put Russia on the top, but Trump said no, we (the US) are going to be the no.1. This is very dangerous stuff if we talk about nuclear weapons, he added.

Paolo said that last but not least is the potential aftermath. We haven’t seen an end to the US's belief that Russia meddled in the 2016 US elections, but he doubts whatever the outcome is, it will be positive for the bilateral relations.

Paolo believes that it would be a good idea if the US, regardless of the enormous differences, would consider ties with Russia and others like China, as the countries navigate the Korean Peninsula issues, the Iran nuclear deal and more.

And on the Korean Peninsula, he said we are expecting the summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un, but have really no idea what to expect. Can Russia play a role in encouraging stability and pushing for the denuclearization of the Peninsula?

But what is really significant for them is whether the US can cooperate with Putin, he added.