Forging Global Stability

By George N.Tzogopoulos

The creation of a multilateral world has changed the international scene. While the United States preserves its military superiority， the continuous development of China and Russias resilience influences the balance of power. Under the administration of President Joe Biden， Washington seeks to set the tone by demonstrating to its partners that“it is back” on the world stage after four years of former President Donald Trumps policies. During his first trip to Europe since his inauguration in January， Biden took part in Group of Seven （G7）， NATO and U.S.-EU summits. But the meeting that captured international attention was the one with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva， Switzerland， on June 16.

The relationship between the U.S. and Russia has been tense since 2014， following the Ukraine crisis. The animosity has been evident on both bilateral and multilateral levels. Despite well-known disagreements， Washington and Moscow have every reason to keep the channels of communication open.

The presidential joint statement on strategic stability asserts that， even in periods of tension， the two sides “are able to make progress on [their] shared goals of ensuring predictability in the strategic sphere， reducing the risk of armed conflicts and the threat of nuclear war.”

The international community hopes that a good U.S.-Russian mutual understanding will evolve and yield results in arms control arrangements. Good intentions cannot， however， guarantee progress due to existing mistrust. It is this mistrust that also creates tension in discussions about repairing the bilateral relationship. Although Biden and Putin have expressed interest in finding solutions， they hold very different standpoints. Cybersecurity is just one such example.

As the largest nuclear powers， it remains to be seen if the U.S. and Russia will be able to prioritize cooperation and find a way out of the current labyrinth. Both presidents consider face-to-face dialogue significant in that regard and Putin spoke about opportunities in the development of the Arctic region. As Biden told the media， “its clearly not in anybodys interest… to be in a situation where [the U.S. and Russia] are in a new cold war.”

China hopes to see AmericanChinese-Russian relations stabilize， or at least not deteriorate. While the U.S. is seeking to compete with， or perhaps confront， China， the China-Russia partnership has reached new heights.

Putin commented on this theme in an NBC interview prior to the Geneva meeting in which he stressed the strength of China- Russia trust in all areas， including politics， the economy， technology as well as military and technical cooperation. In his words，“China is a friendly nation” and not a threat to Russia. In the near term， the U.S. ultimate goal could be to drive a wedge between China and Russia.