"The two countries' presidents determined the priority lines in Russian-American relations at the summit in Bratislava. Besides economic issues, the presidents reached agreement on other sectors of cooperation, which have been traditional since 2001. These are anti-terrorist interaction and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. A certain difference in approaches was revealed. For example, Russia prefers a dialogue to American pressure in relations with Iran and North Korea," Margelov remarked.
He pointed out that "the agenda and the tone of the summit in Bratislava showed that in general US foreign policy priorities remained unchanged during the second term of George Bush's presidency."
"Apparently, the slogan of promoting democracy was brought to the front. I presume Condoleezza Rice played an important role in promoting the slogan," the chairman of the committee aggregated.
According to the official, Rice's appointment as the Secretary of State "means a certain modification of approach to the foreign policy, precisely the combination of rigidity in issues affecting US interests with the restoration of allied relations with Europe".
"Rice follows this approach with relation to Russia as well, noting a great potential of our partnership and, simultaneously, the difficulties of developing democracy in Russia. Moreover, the quality of democracy is considered as a condition of further partnership," the interlocutor added.
"On the whole, the appointment of Condoleezza Rice has not affected the character of Russian-American relations. They have remained within the range of the Republican administration's common policy," Mikhail Margelov summed up.
