Opinions

Even with all the turmoil surrounding the economy and the financial meltdown, it is good to see that President Obama is not wasting any time working towards repairing our global relationships. After eight years of failed Bush global affairs, it is time to put America in a positive leadership position.

Here is an excerpt from a Reuters report:

MOSCOW (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has held talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, a spokesman for the former Soviet leader said on Monday, in the latest sign of Washington’s efforts to “press the reset button” on ties with Russia.

Spokesman Konstantin Petrenko said Gorbachev met Obama and Vice President Joe Biden — who coined the ‘reset’ phrase last month — in Washington last Friday. He did not give any details of the discussion.

Bilateral ties worsened sharply last year, with the two countries at odds over NATO expansion, U.S. plans for a missile shield in Eastern Europe, and Russia’s war with Georgia.

Visits by veteran politicians have been used by both sides to test the waters before Obama meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time on April 1 in London on the eve of a G20 summit. A delegation led by former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger visited Russia last week and met Medvedev.

We must re-establish a detente with Russia. This is a super-power who has gone through extreme embarrassment during the last few decades with the lost of its empire. It has struggle with re-identifying its identity. As the old saying goes: “Don’t kick a giant when he is down.”

Russia has the ability to hurt us or help us, I hope that President Obama sees that and works to make Russia a friend  of the American people.

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