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US-Russia ties: Chill over Syria replaces warmth of Obama's 'reset' policy

Obama once touted improved US ties with Russia as a major achievement. But the contentious wrangle over Syria at the UN is threatening to undo the 'reset.'

Remember President Obama鈥檚 鈥渞eset鈥� of US-Russia relations? It may be time to hit the 鈥渁lert鈥� button.

The new day in relations between Washington and Moscow, which Mr. Obama has touted as a major foreign-policy achievement of his presidency, is looking more fragile all the time as the two powers take swipes at each other over everything from elections to missile defense.

The latest point of contention in a deepening split is Syria. Russia is using diplomatic wrangling over the Syrian crisis to cudgel the US and its NATO partners over their Libya action this year, and the US in return is accusing Russia of 鈥渂ombast.鈥�

Things seem to be a long way from where they were in June, when Russian President Dmitri Medvedev cooed to the Financial Times that 鈥淣o one wishes the reelection of Barack Obama as US president as I do.鈥�

The most recent focal point for an increasingly testy rift was the microphone outside the Security Council鈥檚 chambers at the United Nations in New York.

On Thursday, Russia鈥檚 UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, stood at the mike and told reporters that Libya, not Syria, was the priority subject for Security Council consideration, 鈥済iven the fact that we were led to believe by NATO leaders there are zero civilian casualties of their bombing campaign.鈥� Russia wants the council to launch a probe into reports of civilian deaths caused by a NATO bombing campaign that was implemented as part of a plan to protect Libyan civilians from the regime of ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi.

That prompted the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, to follow Ambassador Churkin to the microphone.

鈥淥h, the bombast and bogus claims,鈥� she said. 鈥淚s everyone sufficiently distracted from Syria now and the killing that is happening before our very eyes?鈥�

Russia, which holds the Security Council鈥檚 rotating presidency through December, surprised council members by proposing a Syria resolution last week. Russia and China vetoed a resolution on Syria in October on grounds that the text offered by European countries laid all the blame for Syria鈥檚 violence on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad while leaving out any reference to the existence of antigovernment violence, as Assad claims.

Russia鈥檚 proposed resolution was greeted cautiously by the US and European council members, who said it did not go far enough in rebuking the regime for violence that the UN estimates has now caused more than 5,000 deaths.

Friday鈥檚 double bombings in Damascus that claimed more than 40 lives, and which appeared to target government security and intelligence buildings, seem likely to bolster the Russian and official Syrian view that Syria is facing 鈥渢errorist鈥� activity and an intensifying civil conflict.

The US was quick to condemn the bombings, saying in a State Department statement that 鈥渢here is no justification for terrorism of any kind.鈥�

But the statement also kept the focus on the regime鈥檚 violence, adding that 鈥渇or nine long months the Assad regime has used torture and violence to suppress the aspiration of the Syrian people for peaceful political change.鈥� 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽

That emphasis did not appear to open the door to UN action that would equally condemn violence from the Assad regime and from opposition forces.

Russia鈥檚 Churkin says there probably isn鈥檛 time this year to amend his country鈥檚 proposed Syria resolution in ways that would satisfy the council鈥檚 Western powers (the US, France, and Britain).

But given the turn US-Russia relations are taking, prospects for action in the new year hardly look brighter.