U.S.-Russia Conference Aims to Reduce Tensions

For two days in October, Russian and American experts met at the Belfer Center to discuss the state of U.S.-Russia relations and look for glimmers of hope.

Unfortunately, few were seen. The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is only the most urgent manifestation of a deeply troubled relationship between Russia and the West—in particular the United States. As one Russian participant stated, “We should deal first with the problems that existed even before Ukraine.”

The conference, organized by the Belfer Center’s Kevin Ryan and hosted by Center director Graham Allison, was one of the few gatherings of U.S. and Russian policy-influencers able to meet in these tense times. Experts drawn from diplomatic, business, military, and academic professions discussed U.S. and Russian national interests, looking for convergence and conflicts.

Among the few bright spots: P5+1 Talks with Iran, Syrian chemical weapons removal and destruction, New Start Treaty implementation, and space exploration. The almost total shutdown of intergovernmental communication below the ministerial levels means that conferences such as this will become more important to finding solutions to U.S.-Russian problems.

^{Participants in the Center’s conference “Crisis in U.S.-Russian Relations” listen to comments in Russian and English.}