Working with Russia

The often tricky relationship between Russia and the West could get stickier if a planned leadership reshuffle goes through, putting former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin back in the presidency, but both the US and German governments have pledged to maintain a strong relationship with Moscow, regardless of who governs Russia.

Constitutional restrictions forced Putin to step down in 2008 after two terms in office, but after the single term of his hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev, Putin is free to run in 2012 elections. He announced that he would on Saturday at his United Russia party conference.

Putin is widely expected to win that election as his United Russia party dominates the political landscape. A change to the constitution now means presidential terms last six years, meaning Putin could remain in power until 2024.

Reset unbroken

The White House made it clear that the administration of US President Barack Obama would continue its so-called "reset" of US-Russian relations.

"We will continue to build on the progress of the reset whoever serves as the next president of Russia because we believe that it is in the mutual interests of the United States and Russia and the world," spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

US-Russian relations frayed towards the end of Putin's presidency and that of Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. But under Obama and Medvedev the two countries have hammered out a new nuclear arms reduction treaty and greater cooperation on issues like Iran's nuclear program.

German Chancellor Merkel also voiced her confidence in continued good relations with Russia.

Merkel was quoted as saying that she "works well with Medvedev," in a tweet from her spokesman Steffen Seibert. "Cooperation will be good with every Russian president," Seibert continued, "because Germany and Russia are connected by a strategic partnership."

Disagreements over reform

If Putin were to take over the presidency, it's expected that Medvedev would then become his prime minister, a role more focused on domestic policy. But at least one government minister is not interested in working more closely with Medvedev.

"I do not see myself in a new government," Alexei Kudrin, Russia's finance minister, told reporters. "The point is not that nobody has offered me the job; I think that the disagreements I have will not allow me to join this government."

Kudrin's tenure stretches back to May 2000, making him the longest-serving finance minister in the Group of Eight´, the world's leading industrialized nations. He's credited with softening the blow of the global economic crisis for Russia by creating a rainy-day fund from windfall oil revenue.

But Kudrin has squabbled with Medvedev over increases in defense spending and concerns over next year's budget. He made it clear he was only interested in working with a prime minister who is committed to reform, something he thinks Medvedev lacks.

Opposition dismay

Russia's opposition is deeply concerned about Putin's potential return to the presidency, with Boris Nemtsov, who served as deputy foreign minister in the late 1990s, describing it as a "horror scenario."

"Putin returns and everyone else leaves," he said. "Foreign capital will flee and people will emigrate."

Opposition leaders are expected to hold a rally in Moscow on Sunday.

Author: Holly Fox (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Ben Knight