On October 27, RIAC experts on Russian-American relations met former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize winner for launching peace talks with Vietnam, initiator of the U.S.-China rapprochement and a key figure in elaborating a new treaty on arms reductions between the United States and the Soviet Union. The discussion focused on Russia-U.S.-China relations, balance between guaranteeing security and not violating citizens' liberties, cyber security, American position on Iran and Egypt, prospects for Geneva-2 talks, BRICS and emerging economies, strategic stability in Russian-American relations, and troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.
On October 27, RIAC experts on Russian-American relations met former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Nobel Peace Prize winner for launching peace talks with Vietnam, initiator of the U.S.-China rapprochement and a key figure in elaborating a new treaty on arms reductions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Yevgeny Primakov, Chairman of RIAC Board of Trustees, considers Mr. Kissinger to be an outstanding politician. "There seem to be only a few figures like that, especially in the 20th century. From my perspective, he invariably proceeds from the realities, at the same time seeking ways out of critical situations without doing any damage to the U.S. interests that he represents," said academician Primakov in one of his interviews.
The participating RIAC experts, all of them under 40 years of age, did not only ask questions but also had a chance to discuss various matters with the distinguished politician. Among other things, he said that Russia was part of his political life longer than the participants' average age. "I came to Russia as an ally, opponent, partner and adversary – in fact, there is no state of the bilateral relations I had not been through". Today, Russia and the U.S. do not agree on everything but at the same time they do not oppose each other.
Mr. Kissinger shared his invaluable experiences with RIAC analysts, mentioning the principle "if you don't know what to do, support your friends" that often works effectively in global politics.
The discussion focused on Russia-U.S.-China relations, balance between guaranteeing security and not violating citizens' liberties, cyber security, American position on Iran and Egypt, prospects for Geneva-2 talks, BRICS and emerging economies, strategic stability in Russian-American relations, and troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.
The meeting was attended by RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov and political scientist Thomas Graham, managing director at Kissinger Associates and former Special Assistant to President Bush and Senior Director for Russian Affairs.
RIAC experts on Russian-American relations met former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
