John Kerry delivers remarks after being sworn-in as U.S. Secretary of State during a ceremony at the State Department in Washington, February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed
Russian Foreign Minister Won’t Return Kerry’s Call -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
Secretary of State John Kerry called all the foreign ministers of countries that deal with North Korea following Monday's nuclear test and all but one of them picked up the phone -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Kerry made his first remarks about the new nuclear test, which the North Koreans warned the State Department about in advance.
"With respect to the DPRK, President Obama made it crystal clear last night and previously in all comments, as have other countries, that North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program are a threat now to the United States of America, because of what they are pursuing specifically, as well as to global security and peace," Kerry said.
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My Comment: Memo to U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry .... the Russians are sending a message. The Russian media/political class/popular opinion/etc. has turned increasingly negative on President Obama and his administration .... and .... to put it bluntly .... they simply do not trust him. The reasons are many .... but from my vantage point it accelerated after Libyan strongman Gaddafi was overthrown with the assistance of U.S. and NATO air power. The Russians believed that the UN resolution that they had voted for coupled with the reassurances that they received from the Obama administration would not have permitted this intervention .... they were wrong. Add in missile defense, civil war in Syria, supporting advocacy groups in Russia, encroachment of NATO, passing laws targeting Russian officials, etc. .... the list is many and with each grievance the relationship is suffering. As for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry he is also in a very difficult position because he supported the Magnitsky Act .... a law that has really rankled every senior Russian official from President Putin on down.