GMF - The German Marshall Fund of the United States - Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation

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Events
GMF celebrates its 40 year history and Founder and Chairman, Dr. Guido Goldman at Gala Dinner May 09, 2013 / Washington, DC

GMF held a celebratory gala dinner at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, Wednesday May 8.

Audio
Deal Between Kosovo, Serbia is a European Solution to a European Problem May 13, 2013

In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

Andrew Small on China’s Influence in the Middle East Peace Process May 10, 2013

Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine

Events

How to engage Russia: A German-American conversation March 10, 2009 / Washington, DC



On March 10, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted a panel discussion on "How to engage Russia: A German-American conversation," featuring , member of the German Parliament and spokesman on foreign affairs of the Social Democratic Party-Group; and , George F. Kennan senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Karen Donfried, GMF's executive vice president, moderated the panel.

The discussion focused on the current state of play in Russia and the implications for transatlantic relations in the wake of a new U.S. administration. At the recent 45th Munich Conference on Security Policy, Vice President Biden said that there has been a "dangerous drift in relations" between Russia and the member states of NATO, and that "it's time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should be working together with Russia."

It was suggested that while Russia is better now than it was before 1989, the problem with Russia is not its strength, but its weakness. The European Union (EU) is the natural partner to engage with Russia and should be a bold actor when it comes to Russia - but noted that the new U.S. administration should give the first opening to Russia.

Americans tend to doubt that the EU will be a bold actor toward Russia, and a U.S.-German dialogue is also necessary. More important is coming to a consensus on how to engage with Russia. The experts and policymakers over the last 20 years have always been wrong about Russia in the same way: they have assumed that whatever they see in a given moment would continue.

The forces of dynamism in Russia are greater than we think, and one suggested that there is room for accomplishment with Russia. The discussion brought to bear how important the EU-US relationship is when it comes to engaging Russia.