2. RUSSIA/RESET
Russia hasn't been much of an issue in the Republican primary, but with Romney as the presumptive nominee, expect it to re-emerge. Romney has described New START, the treaty under which Russia and the United States have agreed to reduce their nuclear stockpiles, as Obama's "worst foreign-policy mistake." He thinks that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is "rebuilding the Russian empire" and that "letting people into WTO who intend to cheat is obviously a mistake." In his official foreign-policy white paper, he promises to "reset President Obama's 'Reset' with Russia," "[f]orthrightly confront the Russian government over its authoritarian practices," and enhance diplomatic and military cooperation with countries in Russia's so-called near abroad.
In March, Putin will almost certainly be returned to Russia's presidency in an election likely to be marred by reports of irregularity and fraud -- a development that will not reflect well on the "reset policy," one of the Obama administration's signature foreign-policy initiatives. The criticism of the president's overtures to Moscow fits in with a larger Republican critique of Obama's abandoning U.S. allies, such as former Soviet satellite Georgia, in the name of engagement with rivals.
In defending the reset, Obama can point to the historic agreement to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and increasing Russian cooperation in the war in Afghanistan.


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