Friday, August 9, 2013

Obama’s Putin snub puts new focus on Moscow’s China ties



When leaders of the G20 assemble in St Petersburg next month, all eyes will be on the body language between the host Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, who this week snubbed the Russian leader by cancelling a separate summit in Moscow. 

But the cameras will also be keen to capture the chemistry between Mr Putin and Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader who has quietly encouraged the growing rapprochement between the two nations. 

Disenchanted by its recent dealings with Mr Putin, the Obama administration is publicly downgrading the sort of relationship it expects to have with Russia. Yet one unintended consequence of such an approach could be to push Russia and China closer together in ways that will not be helpful to US interests. 

“These days, Russian and Chinese leaders exchange more phone calls than either does with the US,” says Dimitri Simes, president of the Center for the National Interest, a Washington think-tank.

US officials insist that the Russian decision to award asylum to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor responsible for leaking some of Washington’s most closely held secrets, was not the only reason for the cancellation of the September summit in Moscow. 

With few concrete items on the agenda, they feared the summit would serve only as a useful photo opportunity for Mr Putin, who has cracked down on political opponents since his return to power last year. 

However, the new rift with Mr Putin represents a significant setback for an administration which had held high ambitions for its ability to do diplomatic business with Russia. 

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