[Deb Palmieri on Russia Table of Contents] The following article was published in the Russian Commerce News, January-February 2001. The Russian Commerce News is the official publication of The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce®. |
The recent visit to Denver by Russian Natural Resources Minister Boris A. Yatskevich was really a milestone event in many ways. It was a goodwill journey to the U.S. to remind investors once again that Russia is open for business, especially in the area of natural resource exploration. Moreso, it underscored the fact that Russia has something we need - oil, gas and other mineral resources. The challenge then is to seek out resource extraction strategies that work for both sides. Take, for example, our current energy shortage. Russia is a major source of oil and gas, including proven reserves and undiscovered oil. Our own estimate, Russia's potential Arctic reserves is 100 bn barrels of oil, compared to our own U.S. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of 5-16 bn barrels of oil.
As an alternative to pouring the national budget into an escalation of the arms race, with new generations of missile defense systems, and suspicious and negative attitudes that go along with it, why not recognize the complimentarity of economic needs between Russia and America as a high priority and craft policies designed to achieve the goal of natural resource extraction in an expedited manner? Russia benefits because it is tapping into natural resource wealth that will provide the single greatest boost for pumping hard currency into the national economy, far more than trade, technology or the New Economy is capable of delivering, especially in the short-term. Russia would be well advised to become more convinced of this priority, one of using natural resource development to spur economic growth, and the need for a strong state policy to aggressively pursue this goal.
The U.S. benefits because Russia provides a major diversified partner from Middle East oil dependency, and one which provides more political stability and certainty than any other CIS country, including considerations of pipeline transit. It is therefore in the national interest of the U.S. to dramatically rethink its Russia policy and evaluate the benefits of strategic partnering on the basis of such important economic considerations. The U.S. would be ill-advised at this time to proceed along a path branding Russia as an adversary, excluding her from pursuits as a member of the family of Western nations and allowing unfounded security fears to eclipse considerations of economic partnering.
Russians and Americans could work closely to establish priority government policies that cut through the red tape and problems that companies like Chevron and others know so well. Government-funded enhanced technology applications and accelerated R&D could discover how better to penetrate Arctic barriers and extract oil more easily and take into consideration environmental impacts. The Russian side could cut red tape bureaucracy at local and regional levels and the investor side could confront fewer local barriers to drilling and transporting oil. Ongoing efforts by the Russian government to stamp out organized crime would be intensified in this process.
Russia and the U.S. share far more similar global security concerns than those over which they may differ. In the last ten years, Russia has demonstrated a pronounced preference to align itself with the political and economic interests of the Western world, far more so, than say the Third World or the Arab world. A jolt in our national mindset is what is required to genuinely sort out our global priorities and to clearly define our national interests. Up for serious discussion should be the concept that these rest significantly in strategic partnering with Russia on the basis of current complementary and pressing needs.
It all may sound unusual or even inconceivable today, but our national futures are bound to move in this direction, whether today or two decades from now. Beginning a dialogue today on these issues will reap great benefits now and in the future, not to mention a welcome side effect: partnering on the economic front would inevitably forge a strong political partnership between the U.S. and Russia, and one that is the essential cornerstone of global stability.
Deborah Anne Palmieri
Russian Commerce News, January-February 2001
Copyright 2001 The Russian-American Chamber of Commerce®