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The Candidates on U.S. Policy toward Russia
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Dennis Kucinich
Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) favors the elimination of nuclear weapons and has called for new talks with Russia and all other nuclear countries to accomplish that goal. Kucinich supports preservation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which the Bush administration announced it would opt out of in December 2001. "Scrapping it and building a missile defense system will only invite Russia and China to build up arsenals able to overcome our defenses."
He says the United States should cancel ballistic missile defense plans, which he has called "a wacky idea that will never work" (CNN).
Click here for this candidate's position on other top foreign policy issues.
Barack Obama
Sen. Obama (D-IL) has said Russia is "neither our enemy nor close ally," and said the United States "shouldn't shy away from pushing for more democracy, transparency, and accountability" there. He has focused much of his discussion of Russia on diminishing the possibility of nuclear weapons use. In a July 2007 Foreign Affairs article, Obama said the United States and Russia should collaborate to "update and scale back our dangerously outdated Cold War nuclear postures and de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons." In an October 2007 speech in Chicago, Obama said if elected he would work to "take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair-trigger alert, and to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of our nuclear weapons and material." He said he would seek a "global ban on the production of fissile material for weapons" and an expansion of "the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles."
In 2005, Obama traveled with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) to nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. Obama and Lugar then introduced legislation to eliminate nuclear stockpiles throughout the former Soviet Union. That law was enacted in 2007.
Click here for this candidate's position on other top foreign policy issues.
Bill Richardson
New Mexico Gov. Richardson has said the United States should use diplomatic pressure to get Russia to "control some of the loose nuclear weapons in their domain." In an April 2007 Democratic debate, Richardson also said Russia should be "more humane in dealing with Chechnya." He views Russia as a potential "stable source of energy" for the United States. He also said Russian leaders should increase democracy promotion "in their own nation."
In an October 2007 Democratic debate, Richardson said Russia 's relationship with Iran is "not healthy."
Click here for this candidate's position on other top foreign policy issues.
