Bad ties with Russia will 'cost US significantly': Experts

As the US gears to press the "reset button" with regard to ties with Russia, experts have said sound American-Russian relations is critically important for advancing Washington's global and national interests.

Whether preventing Iran from acquiring atomic weapons, dismantling the al-Qaeda and stabilising Afghanistan, or security and prosperity in Europe, the US foreign policy will face difficulty without Russian cooperation, said a report "The Right Direction for US Policy Towards Russia".

"Failure could impose significant costs," it warned.

"Not only rhetoric but swift action is essential to build a relationship with Moscow that addresses critical US goals in Iran, Afghanistan, and around the world," it said.

The Obama Administration must establish an effective, comprehensive bilateral structure to facilitate consultation, dialogue, and negotiation.

"US priorities must be defined more clearly. And we must more realistically assess Russia's views of its interests."

The Commission on US Policy toward Russia is a joint project of The Nixon Centre and the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, a research centre within Harvard University's John F Kennedy School of Government.

The Commission is co-chaired by Chuck Hagel and Gary Hart, two prominent US Senators. 

The Commission on US Policy Towards Russia report said the success in creating a new and cooperative ties with Russia can contribute to each of these objectives and many others.

Giving its set of recommendations, it said the Obama Administration should seek to make Russia an American partner in dealing with Iran and the broader problem of emerging nuclear powers and work jointly to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.

The Obama Administration should reinvigorate the work of the US-Russia Counter-terrorism Working Group and more broadly, seek closer cooperation with Russia against terrorist threats and in stabilising Afghanistan, including strengthening supply routes for NATO operations there.

It urges the US government to take a new look at missile-defence deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic and make a genuine effort to develop a cooperative approach to the shared threat from Iranian or other missiles.

It recommends US to launch a serious dialogue on arms control, including the extension of START I before the treaty expires in December 2009, as well as on further reduction of strategic and tactical nuclear weapons.

This should include discussion of the "nuclear zero" goal articulated by US president Barack Obama and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, it said.

While encouraged by the positive statements made by leaders of both countries in the past few weeks to improve the relationship between the two countries, the report says they are deeply concerned by the gap between the current US-Russian relationship and the level of cooperation that the United States needs with Russia in order to advance vital American interests.