Russian-American Security Cooperation After St. Petersburg: Challenges and Opportunities

President Vladimir Putin's recent speech at the Munich Security Conference, in which he accused the United States of pursuing an American-dominated world order without regard for international law and morality, vividly demonstrated the extent to which political relations between Russia and the United States have frayed in recent years. For their part, American observers criticize the Putin administration for weakening Russia's opposition parties, restricting broadcast media, and impeding nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). They also fault Russia's military and nuclear cooperation with Iran and its overbearing energy policies towards other countries. Many people in the United States and elsewhere called on President George W. Bush to boycott the July 2006 G-8 summit in St. Petersburg to protest these developments.