The US-Russia relations have taken a nosedive in recent days as the presidents of both countries accused each other of being killers, and a declassified US intelligence report claimed that Russia meddled in the 2020 US elections. The report from the US Director of National Intelligence started the latest war of words. It claimed that the Russians had been using fake news on social media and ‘useful idiots’ with ties to the Republican to help Donald Trump, in particular, and to generally reduce confidence in the elections. Although not named in the report, these ‘useful idiots’ included Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others in Trump’s inner circle who were pushing ridiculous election rigging claims. Russia denied the charge and tried to flip the table.
The following day, US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a killer and warned the Russians of punishment for the election rigging. Putin fired back by withdrawing the Russian ambassador in DC and saying, “It takes one to know one.” In Biden’s case, it was unclear whether he was referring to the deaths and murder attempts on Russian dissidents in recent years, the alleged Russian bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, or Russia’s involvement in several war-torn countries where the US also has a presence. Putin was most likely referring to Biden’s role in the Iraq War — then-Senator Biden voted yes on the war authorisation, despite the UN calling the war illegal and the world rejecting the false intelligence evidence the US used to justify the invasion. Biden was also part of the drone-happy Obama Administration and has already authorised several drone attacks himself.
For countries like Pakistan, this external dispute can be a source of serious problems. Both countries are important trade and diplomatic partners. If the US imposes sanctions on Russia or either country asks Pakistan to take a side in the dispute, Islamabad will lose greatly. But while the dispute is stressful, there is no reason to worry about it going from cold war to hot war. The US and Russia still managed to sign a nuclear weapons control deal, and the White House has said that it is still willing to work with Russia on several issues where their interests align.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2021.
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