(EDM) Russian foreign policy took an unexpected turn and suffered a serious setback last week when President Vladimir Putin suggested sending to Washington a delegation headed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, which was firmly turned down by the United States government. The initiative was poorly prepared, and the fruits of Putin’s recent meeting with US President Barack Obama after their respective addresses to the United Nations General Assembly turned out to be quite sour; thus, it was hard to see any point in resuming this bilateral dialogue (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, October 16). Nevertheless, Putin declared he could not understand this refusal to talk, while Medvedev announced he was deeply offended and called the US’s position “weak” and “stupid” (RIA Novosti, October 16). The assumption that Washington would not dare reject Putin’s proposal betrays the Kremlin’s misunderstanding of the United States’ stance on the Syrian war—and also a delusion that Russia has regained a position of strength. […]
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