Reset is a lengthy process: Adam Rotfeld

Hello, Dr. Rotfeld.what are your assessments of the US elections? How did people in Poland react to the results?

Let me answer the second question first. Poland reacted to the elections with such an enthusiasm as if these were Polish elections. I think it was the same all over the world. That’s quite paradoxical as the US influence on the global affairs has recently reduced. But people seem not to have noticed this. It’s likePhantom limbs – a painful sensation of an amputated limb still being part of the body.

I’ll tell you frankly – I went for Barack Obama as he is an experienced politician, keen on international security issues. He’s a troubleshooter not a troublemaker. He was the one speaking about a step-by-step NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Obama pledged drastic changes when he first took the helm but some were disappointed as they didn’t see that much change. But the 2012 elections showed that Obama still has trust among voters which is crucial.

Dr. Rotfeld, do you find a new reset of Russian-US relations possible and do these relations need a reset?

I’ll tell you this: "reset” is a media word which makes the global international affairs look simpler than they really are. Some time ago, Obama’s Administration, namely the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened way to new Russian US-relations. The US has offered Russia a hand to develop partnership and cooperation. The US leader stated that Russia is not America’s foe. Now, many things depend on Russia, I mostly mean the situation inside Russia. "Reset” is only a word, but deeds are to do the job. I can say the same about Russia and Poland. We’ve recently seen the most positive developments in our relations in the last 500 years. But Russian-Polish relations are overshadowed with the Smolensk tragedy of 2010. This was not just a crash which killed the crew and passengers – it killed President Lech Kaczynski and his wife. People of Poland still bear this grief in their hearts and I want Russians to understand this. We want a probe into the crash to be completed. As for this year, I highly assess the significance of Russia’s Patriarch visit to Poland and want to praise the Centers for Dialogue and Accord in Warsaw and Moscow.

Getting back to "reset” is not a single –shot event but quite a lengthy process and it should be seen as such.

Irina Chayko

Voice of Russia