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Obama, If You Play with Fire You Get Burned

Jim Hoagland, The Washington Post | February 23, 2009

Hit hard by the financial crisis, now is no time for Russia to make enemies and the Kremlin should be content that Obama opted for an extended-hand diplomacy. ++ Yet, "even if Medvedev goes for detente, he may not be able to deliver it: "policy is still dictated by Putin who is eager to convince the world that Russia is back. ++ Thus, Obama's openness is a sign of hope but also of great vulnerability which may result in failure. ++ Foreign policy takes more than a month in office to change; Russia -- among others -- is still a threat to the US.