Beware Friendship with Moscow
British Foreign Secretary William Hague may be keen to 'reset' relations, but The Guardian believes that under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia remains a land of murky deeds.
As Hague prepares to follow the Obama administration in attempting a "reset" of relations with Russia, this latter thought is worth holding on to. The Guardian comments that for all the talk of modernization, reform and defeating corruption, the fiefdom of the so-called "power tandem" - prime minister Vladimir Putin and president Dmitry Medvedev - remains a very foreign land of dark forests, hidden currents and murky deeds.
The publication notes that Hague's recent statement about next month's visit contained no allusion to concerns about misgovernance. Rather, its emphasis was twofold: UK-Russia collaboration on international issues; and strengthening bilateral economic and business links. He made no mention at all of ongoing abuses of human and civil rights, the lack of political pluralism, restrictions on media freedoms and Russia's less than independent judiciary.