American Committee for US-Russia Accord

As a veteran U.S. diplomat, William J. Burns led secret negotiations with Iran and Libya over their weapons programs, served as ambassador in Jordan and Russia, oversaw U.S. relations with the Middle East and then ascended to the highest levels of the State Department.

Today we are posting two recent speeches by the presidents of the U.S. and Russia that might serve to illuminate the differing approaches each takes toward international affairs. These very different statements might also point to the underlying differences that remain a cause for the ongoing difficulty in achieving a less strained, more productive US-Russia relationship.

We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity.

We all know that competition and rivalry between countries in world history never stopped, do not stop and will never stop. Differences and a clash of interests are also natural for such a complicated body as human civilisation. However, in critical times this did not prevent it from pooling its efforts – on the contrary, it united in the most important destinies of humankind.