Events Detail

As President Barack Obama prepares for a historic trip to Russia next month, a debate rages in the United States over whether the West should seek accommodation with Russia — and on whose terms. Some insist that the U.S. should accept Russian direction over the former Soviet republics in return for Russian assistance on such issues as terrorism, North Korea, and the nuclear ambitions of Iran. Others argue that the United States should defend basic principles and avoid any "deal" with Russia that the present Russian regime cannot and will not respect.

To discuss these issues and the future of U.S.-Russian relations, Hudson Institute assembled the following panel of experts:

David Kramer

       Weitz, Satter, Piontkovsky, and Kramer

David Kramer is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State — where he was responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova — and a former Assistant Secretary of State for democracy, human rights, and labor. He is presently a Senior Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund.

Andrei Piontkovsky

Andrei Piontkovsky, Executive Director of the Strategic Studies Center (Moscow), is a well-known political analyst in Russia, where he contributes regularly to such publications as Novaya Gazyeta and the Moscow Times. Piontkovsky is the author of several best-selling books on the Putin presidency in Russia, including his most recent work, Russian Identity (Hudson Institute, 2008). He is currently a Visiting Fellow at Hudson Institute.

David Satter

David Satter, a former Moscow correspondent, is a long time observer of Russia and the former Soviet Union. He is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute and a Visiting Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Richard Weitz (moderator)

Richard Weitz is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute.  Dr. Weitz is the author of Revitalising US–Russian Security Cooperation: Practical Measures (IISS, 2005); China-Russia Security Relations (SSI, 2008); and Global Security Watch-Russia (PSI, forthcoming).

Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center

Hudson Institute

1015 Fifteenth Street, NW, Sixth Floor

Washington, DC 20005