WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2021) The US national security establishment, obsessed with global hegemony, will not allow the Biden administration to improve relations with Russia despite the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), experts and a former high-level American government official told Sputnik.
Earlier on Tuesday, the White House said President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call discussed both countries' willingness to extend New START for five years and agreed to have their teams work to complete the extension by the February 5 deadline.
New START, which has been in force since 2011, is the only remaining legally binding agreement on nuclear arms control between the United States and Russia. The treaty limits each country's nuclear arsenal to 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 1,550 nuclear warheads and 800 launchers.
RELATIONS TO SLIDE AMID US BID FOR HEGEMONY
The Kremlin in a readout after the call said that Putin congratulated Biden on the beginning of his work as US president and noted that the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries and, given their special responsibility for maintaining security and stability in the world, the entire international community.
"Putin is correct that a normalization of relations between the US and Russia is in the interests of both countries and that of the entire world," former US Assistant Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts told Sputnik. "The Kremlin needs to understand that the US military/security complex requires Russia as an enemy in order to justify its budget and power. Therefore, there can be no normalization."
He pointed out as a reminder that former President Donald Trump wanted to normalize ties between the two countries but failed for these very reasons.
"It was this goal that caused the US military/security complex to orchestrate the Russiagate hoax in order to prevent any such normalization," Roberts said. "By investigating Trump for three years as a Russian agent, Trump was unable to normalize relations without confirming the propaganda that he was acting in Russia's interest."
Russia House Director Edward Lozansky believes Biden was easily able to agree to extend the treaty because - unlike Trump - nobody would accuse the former vice president of being a Russian sympathizer.
Moreover, Lozansky added, the treaty is in the best interests of the United States and its European allies who want the pact to be extended. However, relations will unlikely improve if the United States continues to insist on dominating the globe, he added.
"The most important thing is to see if he [Biden] continues to claim God's given right to America to keep the world's hegemony with the place at the head of the geopolitical table," Lozansky told Sputnik. "If he does, the US-Russia relations will continue to slide even further down since neither Russia nor China would accept such hegemony."
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a press briefing on Tuesday said Biden also made clear during the conversation that the US will counter so-called malign Russian activities. The Biden administration has accused Russia of hacking major US networks, election meddling, along with the poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny - allegations which Moscow has repeatedly refuted. Experts believe these allegations are also an effort to ensure relations do not improve between the two countries.
Vice President of the Eurasia Center Earl Rasmussen expressed concerns that Washington often begins accusing Russia of different violations even without having reliable facts.
"Most likely, the most productive part of the discussion may have been the Arms Treaty, which in my perspective is the most important," Rasmussen told Sputnik. "The other talking points seem to be political and geared toward the American audience. For the most part, those accusations are without evidence."
Rasmussen also said, based on recent foreign policy cabinet nominations in the Biden administration, he expects a further deterioration in US-Russian relations.
Roberts said a big part of the problem is Washington's lack of respect for Moscow, pointing to the recent American allegations and the sanctioning of Russian businessman and government officials. The former US official also noted how Washington seized Russian consulates and property for no other reason than an intentional provocation.
"Endless derogatory remarks are made about President Putin. Washington overthrew the Ukrainian government and installed its own, causing Russia problems with the EU and Ukraine. Washington interfered in Belarus. Recently House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton said that Putin had ordered Trump to have his supporters storm the Capitol," Roberts said.
As far as Navalny goes, Roberts said the Kremlin by all means should "cease permitting Washington to finance a fifth column inside Russia."
On Saturday, multiple unauthorized protests took place in various regions of Russia, instigated by supporters of Navalny.
"Navalny and his supporters are Washington's agents," Roberts said. "They make propaganda inside Russia that Washington and NATO exploit outside Russia."
Until Washington respects the Russian government, he added, Moscow cannot negotiate on equal terms.
"It is dangerous for Washington to disrespect the Russian government," Roberts said. "It could result in Washington miscalculating and provoking a war."
Roberts suggested that Russia could gain respect with more aggressive responses to Washington's accusations and provocations.
"A very visible mutual defense treaty between Russia, China, and Iran would sober Washington considerably," Roberts concluded.
