There is an interesting yet sheer irony in regards to relations between the United States and Russia. One could possibly call it a love-hate relationship on both the country’s parts. Let’s see, the United States and Russia are two of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for starters. The two countries are both part of the G8.
At the G8 summit, Russia was initially opposed to stricter sanctions slapped upon Zimbabwe because of the actions by Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. However, Russia relented and agreed to place the sanctions upon Zimbabwe. While the United States and Russia do agree on something, there is another issue that has to be dealt with. This is one issue that’s been lingering out of the headlines for a few months.
Yes, there is still the situation with the US missile defense shield. This is supposed to protect countries from missile attacks by hostile nations such as Iran. So far, the United States and Russia have been at odds in regards to the missile defense shield.
So far, the United States has already made a deal with the Czech Republic. Now, Russia has threatened to retaliate with military intervention. The day before, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the formal agreement with the Czech Republic in regards to this project.
According to Russia’s government, this program would hurt the balance of Europe’s security.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that they will have to react militarily instead of reacting diplomatically.
While an agreement has been made with the Czech Republic, the US still has a difficult time with Poland. However, not many Czechs are warm to the idea of the US missile defense shield.
In a nutshell, things will be getting quite interesting.
There is a chance that this will become a debate topic in the US Presidential elections between presumed Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois and presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona. In a sense, this is a type of political ammunition that both Obama and McCain can use against each other.