Celebrating 90 Years - Foreign Policy Association

Relations Between Russia
and the United States
70 | FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov
Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation
Russia underwent transformations
in the 1990s that removed
the grounds for ideological incompatibility
and confrontation
in Russian-American relations.
I
lived in New York for a total of seventeen
years, and I have traveled a bit in the United
States. This country has influenced both my
life and my perception of international relations.
This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary
of diplomatic relations between the United
States and Russia. Many important things
have happened over the last 200 years. We
remember the time when Russia supported
the North American colonies’ struggle for
independence and when Russia pursued the
policy of armed neutrality that allowed this
new country to trade and consequently, helped
it to survive. We remember enlightened
contacts between Czar Alexander I and
Thomas Jefferson. We also remember the time
when both Russia and the United States were
exploring the new land in the American West.
The 49th state of the United States was once
Russian territory. We, of course, remember
lend-lease assistance, which was very important
to Russia, the first Soyuz space mission, and
many other things that brought our countries
and people together.
We have also seen not-so-good times,
including confrontation evolving into the Cold
War. The Caribbean crisis showed that the
leaders of both countries, even at that time,
had the wisdom to avoid a standoff. The
policy of detente logically followed, in spite of
the confrontational standoff of the two blocs,
Russia’s response to the 9/11
terrorist attacks gave strong
political momentum to our relations,
adding an emotional dimension
and prompting recollections
of our alliance during World War II.