Obama, Russia and Europe

On the first glance, Barack Obama has subordinated US foreign policy to the interests of Moscow. He has slowed down NATO enlargement, stopped urging Russia to democratise and hinted that the US might not build missile defence sites in Europe. But Tomas Valasek argues that the US president's scepticism on missile defence and NATO enlargement has more to do with the poor performance of the interceptor missiles and the political turmoil in Ukraine and Georgia. Valasek concludes that Obama is less accommodating of Russia than it appears, and that the US president also seems determined to prevent a Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.