By Tyler Pager
WASHINGTON – Heritage Foundation experts described a grim future Wednesday for the United States’ relationship with Russia.
In light of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the experts discussed the need for the U.S. to develop a long-term approach to diplomatic relations with Russia.
“I don’t think we’re dealing with a Soviet Russia,” said Luke Coffey, a Heritage Foundation fellow, referring to the years of communist control. “We are dealing with an imperialist Russia.”
Coffey, the only non-British citizen to advise British ministers while working for the country’s Defense Ministry, said as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin is in power the U.S. cannot consider Russia to be a creditable partner.
Thus, he said America must maintain strong military capabilities in Europe and meet its NATO obligations. Additionally, he said the U.S. must acknowledge the Obama’s administration’s planned reset of relations with Russia in 2009 was a failure.
Barring a major geopolitical crisis, Coffey said he does not believe Russia will relinquish control of Crimea in the near future.
A large part of the panel discussion centered on American energy policy as a way to give U.S. allies alternatives to Russian energy sources. Experts said the U.S. needs to free up its own energy markets.
“If you want a way to help our allies not to be so dependent on Russian energy [the way] is to offer them the opportunity to buy the energy from a different source,” Coffey said.
Panelists at the Heritage Foundation discuss the future for U.S.-Russia relations on Wednesday (Tyler Pager/MNS)
Energy should be no exception to the model of free trade that is the norm with other goods, said Nicholas Loris, a Heritage Foundation fellow. However, Loris said he is not confident the Obama administration will move in that direction.
“If we can’t get a pipeline approved in six years, I don’t know how productive the administration wants to be on a free market energy policy,” he said.
Jacob Stokes, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security where he focuses on U.S. foreign policy, was not part of the Heritage panel, but said U.S-Russia relations is an area of greater agreement than other foreign policy topics. Stokes also said he does not see a strong working relationship with Putin moving forward, but he also had reservations about a free market energy policy.
Stokes said Russian gas remains the cheapest option for European markets, even though there has been a long-term desire in the U.S. to help Europe diversify its energy sources.
“The idea that the United States in the short or medium term can help Europe basically fix the issue of being over-reliant on Russia is just wishful thinking,” he said.
