Russia isn’t helping international efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions and has reneged on promises in Georgia, U.S. Senator John McCain said after a foreign policy speech in Brussels.
“I think the Russians can help,” McCain told reporters today at the Brussels Forum meeting of leaders from North America and Europe in Belgium. “I have not seen any Russian actions to help” in Iran. “I have seen no sign” Iran has backed off its nuclear ambitions, he said.
McCain spoke ahead of a scheduled meeting between Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama in London on April 1. Obama is seeking Kremlin support for his policies, including on Afghanistan and Iran. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in February it was time to “reset” relations with Russia after they were frayed by the insistence of George W. Bush to deploy an eastern European missile defense system during his presidency.
McCain criticized other recent Russian foreign policy actions, saying he does “take exception” to a failure by leaders in Moscow to adhere to a November peace agreement with Georgia, brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“I still hope we can publicly commit to democracy in Georgia and Ukraine,” McCain said. “We want freedom and democracy for every nation of the world.”
McCain said he doesn’t think Russia meets the democracy requirements to qualify as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and that he would be “reluctant” to endorse its membership. He rejected Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s suggestion that NATO should be replaced by the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. ...
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Comment: Well maybe after we have further encircle Russia with additional peace loving NATO forces they might see us in a more democratic light (wink-wink-nod-nod).
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