On April 1, the President of the United States Barack Obama and the President of Russia Dmitri Medvedev met for the first time. This important event took place backstage during the G-20 summit in London. Both politicians were prepared to discuss the renewal – “the restart” of Russian-American relations. This impetus for change came as result of intensive work conducted during the last three months by diplomats and members of both administrations. After becoming president in January, Obama exchanged several letters and telephone calls with Medvedev, discussing the necessity of improving the relations between the two countries. In February, Vice President Biden met with Assistant Vice President Sergei Ivanov backstage of the Munich security summit conducted in Germany. In March, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a meeting in Geneva with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in order to build grounds for future discussions of Obama and Medvedev. There, Clinton and Lavrov took turns in pressing the symbolic “reset” button.  

In London, both leaders came out with a joint public statement presenting their new agenda regarding bilateral relations and geared towards the transition from the symbolic “reset” to action, from “kind words to real progress.” Among the topics that presented mutual interests for both Moscow and Washington, the most important ones were the problems of global and strategic stabilization and disarmament, as well as the cooperation in fighting new threats to international security.

In addition to issues of arms control and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, Obama and Medvedev took up several other prioritized tasks, among which were programs to deal with the global financial crisis, stabilizing the situation in Southern Asia, and supporting the progress of reaching peace in the Middle East. During the next meetings, the two leaders will discuss the matters of transnational threats, such as terrorism, organized crime, corruption, and illegal circulation of narcotics. Also, the ways of reinforcing Russian-American economic connections and cultural exchange will be on the agenda.

Obama and Medvedev, who both hold law degrees, represent a new generation of leaders, formed after the end of the Cold War. This new generation is capable of giving a fresh impulse to bilateral relations, which were in high tension during the past several months. There was something else in London that made Medvedev and Obama become closer: both leaders confessed that they admired the works of the famous English writer J.K. Rowling. Obama told the creator of Harry Potter that he read all of her books to his daughters. Medvedev took her autograph.

“There are real disagreements between Russia and the U.S., and I am not going to pretend that they don’t exist. However, there is a wide circle of common interests, where we can collaborate together,” Obama said during one of the press conferences in London. President Medvedev spoke several times about Russia’s striving to improve relations with the United States. He asked President Barack Obama to visit Moscow in July. The American President accepted the invitation.