Translated material
Without insulation
Obama and McCain see Russia differently
On Wednesday, October 15, candidates for the US presidency, 47-year-old Democrat Barack Obama and 72-year-old Republican John McCain, will compete in televised debates for the third and last time . The venue for the duel will be Hofstra University in New York State. The previous televised debate on October 7 in Nashville, Tennessee, brought victory to Obama.In an effort to consolidate his success, one of Obama's leading foreign policy advisers, Michael McFaul, a professor at Stanford University in California, who is considered an expert on Russia, in an interview with American media highlighted the contradictions that separate the candidates in their attitude towards Russia. He said that Washington should continue negotiations with Moscow on the issue of deploying elements of the American missile defense system in Eastern Europe. According to him, “it is in the interests of the United States for Russia to be a member of the World Trade Organization”: “We do not believe in attempts to isolate Russia. We consider this kind of action counterproductive.” True, the professor made a reservation that he was expressing “his personal opinion, and not the official policy” of the candidate from the Democratic Party.
Obama's adviser recalled that John McCain supports President George W. Bush's intention to place a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic and a missile defense system in Poland under the pretext of protection against Iranian missiles, despite Moscow's objections. By contrast, many Democrats believe President Bush is "in too much of a hurry to roll out unproven technology," McFaul said. According to him, Barack Obama will support the missile defense plan only “if it works and if it can be implemented from a financial point of view.” So far, these conditions have not been met, and the administration is implementing these plans without taking into account Russia’s position. The adviser believes that the White House should listen to the proposals of Moscow, which declared its readiness to “place elements of the planned US missile defense system at facilities in Russia and Azerbaijan.”
Michael McFaul's statements have already drawn criticism from John McCain's campaign headquarters. His foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann described them as "seriously ignorant": "Senator McCain advocates a realistic policy that deals with Russia as it is, not as some hope it will be."