28.05 View From the Global Tank: Missile Defense Need Not Derail US-Russian Relationship
If the message from Russian President Vladimir Putin that his national security advisor Nikolai Patrushev transmitted to US President Barack Obama last week is meant to be the Russian leaders final offer in US-Russian negotiations over Americas ballistic missile defense (BMD), then Russian and US diplomats might as well quit trying to find a compromise solution to the thorniest of problems impeding the development of bilateral relations. But though a US-Russian consensus on missile defense appears to be a prerequisite for building a deep and lasting partnership between Moscow and Washington, the two countries can pursue a partnership of convenience on selected issues, even in the absence of a BMD deal.
