Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

Stephanie Rentschler
Calvin College
U.S.-Russian Relations: Toward a Renewed Partnership
Since Vice President Biden’s speech in which he said that “it’s time to press the rest button” for
relations between the United States and Russia, it has been clear that the United States is pursuing a policy
of engagement, attempting to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia. Steps have been
taken toward engaging Russia not only in areas of primary strategic concern for the United States, but also
areas involving culture, science, and technology through long term initiatives to foster understanding and
greater involvement between the two states have also been taken. Determining exactly how to interact
with Russia, however, is much more complex than simply deciding whether or not it would be best to
deepen relations between the two states. When determining how to approach Russia, the United States
must take a number of things into account, including strategic interests, long term sustainability, human
rights, and democratization, as well as U.S. domestic political will to cooperate with a former enemy as
well as Russian perceptions of U.S. intentions.
Since the Cold War, Russia has struggled to determine its role within the international system and
its relation to the West, particularly the United States. Though Russia continues to have some concerning
international policies, engaging Russia is a better option than excluding Russia, feeding its sense of isolation.
Cooperation between the United States and Russia is essential in achieving significant progress on a variety
of critical international issues from nuclear security and energy security to establishing stability in
Afghanistan to the peace and stability in the former Soviet states. Together, the United States and Russia
have 95 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, making Russia an essential partner in maintaining the
security of nuclear weapons as well as an essential partner in the international nuclear nonproliferation
regime. Russia also holds 30 percent of the world’s gas reserves and controls much of the region’s energy
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