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A similar situation exists with Iran. The U.N. nuclear agency revealed secret Iranian experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear weapons
-- the strongest rejection yet of Tehran's argument that its uranium enrichment activity is purely for energy production. But Russia, which has deep trade and investment ties with Iran, has shielded the Islamic republic from any new global sanctions. The U.S. sees a growing Russian unwillingness to cooperate seeping into other areas as well. The Obama administration grew so frustrated with Russia's role in the Middle East process in September that it toyed with the idea of disbanding the "Quartet" of Israeli-Palestinian mediators, which also includes the European Union and the U.N. And Washington finally grew fed up with Moscow's refusal to provide information on its conventional forces in Europe
-- as required under a 21-year agreement with the West -- that it decided last month to no longer share its data in return. Talks have likewise stalled on other elements of a once ambitious U.S.-Russia arms control agenda. The relationship isn't all bleak and certainly hasn't reached the low point set after the Georgia-Russia war in 2008, when George W. Bush was president. Russia will enter the World Trade Organization in early 2012, ending an 18-year pursuit that had partly been stymied by several U.S.-Russian commercial disagreements the Obama administration pushed to resolve. Moscow's accession was sealed when Georgia
-- with U.S. encouragement -- withdrew its objections.
Ultimately, how Russia responds to its internal strife could be the most decisive factor in determining the long-term trajectory of its relationship with the U.S. If it blames Washington for the unrest or flagrantly violates the rights of Russia's citizens, a skeptical Congress would demand a tough response from the administration. Many Republicans openly deride the reset policy already. Shaken by the public anger, Putin's initial reaction was troubling. He accused Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of instigating protesters to weaken Russia and warned that his government wouldn't tolerate foreign interference. But there was no violent crackdown on demonstrators. Three days later Medvedev announced an investigation into claims of voter manipulation. And officials refrained from pointing the finger at the U.S. again. "Russia has one of the most highly educated populations in the world and now a growing middle class, with all the aspirations that middle-class families have," Clinton said Wednesday at an event focusing on American innovation and trade. "This didn't come from the outside. It came from within."
[Associated
Press;
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