Can Praise for Kissinger Lead to a U.S.-Russia Relationship Reboot?

On the 14th (local time), Russian President Vladimir Putin is answering questions at the end-of-year press conference event held in Gostiny Dvor, Russia. /Reuters Yonhap News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently praised the late Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, and the mention of former White House National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski has led to interpretations suggesting a possible improvement in relations with the U.S.

Russian media reported on the 17th that President Putin, in an interview with Russian state television, expressed his agreement with a suggestion by the well-known U.S. politician Brzezinski. According to Putin, Brzezinski proposed the recognition of five key strategic locations as independent sovereign nations, emphasizing the potential for utilizing their resources.

Brzezinski, the former National Security Advisor, ranks among the U.S.’s three major diplomatic heavyweights, standing shoulder to shoulder with the legendary diplomat Kissinger. He had previously designated Ukraine, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, and South Korea as geographically significant countries in U.S. strategy.

Putin’s expressions of condolences and tribute to Henry Kissinger

Earlier, President Putin expressed his condolences and sent a telegram to Kissinger’s widow, Nancy, when the former Secretary of State passed away last month at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut.

President Putin praised Kissinger, who led the détente (easing of tensions) between the U.S. and China in the 1970s, stating, “A wise and visionary politician and diplomat who was respected around the world for decades has left us,” and “Henry Kissinger’s name is closely related to practical diplomatic policies that led to important agreements between the Soviet Union and the U.S. that helped ease international tensions and strengthen world security.”

President Putin also stated, “Thanks to him, it was possible to reach the most important Soviet-U.S. agreements that achieved international tension easing and contributed to strengthening world security.” Newsweek identified Putin as a pragmatic nationalist, not a Marxist, and suggested that his tribute to Kissinger, a witness of realpolitik, was a message to the U.S. to improve relations between Russia and the West.

In his final interview with Politico in October, the late former Secretary Kissinger remarked on the challenges in dealing with Russia. He pointed out that the primary issue was the lack of dialogue with Russia, which made it difficult to understand their perspective or thoughts.

During the end-of-year press conference and communication with the public that lasted four hours on the 14th, President Putin, when asked about the relationship with the U.S., said, “When internal changes happen (in the United States), when they start respecting other people, other countries, when they start looking for compromise instead of trying to resolve their issues with sanctions and military intervention, then the fundamental conditions will be in place to restore fully-fledged relations.”

By. Min Kyu Kim