Obama's diplomacy to be tested in Russia

Obama’s distinctive Air Force One jetliner touched down as drizzly gray skies blanketed Moscow. He proceeded down a formal reception line on the airport tarmac, introducing his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters to the Russian officials waiting to greet them.

The entourage then headed directly to the Kremlin, where Obama is laying a wreath at Russias Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and sitting down for hours of meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev. As they drove, the clouds opened above the center of the city and brilliant sun shone through.

The full-scale, two-day U.S.-Russia summit is the first of its kind since the early part of the George W. Bush presidency. Russia, with its wary public, two-headed leadership and lingering hard feelings, presents a test for Obama. Much of the world will be watching signs of Obama’s relationship with Russia’s two leaders, Medvedev and his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Russia ‘moderately optimistic’

The foundation set now could affect how much cooperation Obama gets in areas in which the U.S. needs help from Russia - chiefly pressuring Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions, but also in tackling terrorism, global warming and the economy.

Both sides are talking of improving their ties and wanting to show some early results. Agreements negotiated before Obama showed up give him something to take home, including another step toward the world's two largest nuclear powers reducing their arsenals.

"At the moment I think we are all moderately optimistic, both the Russian side and the American side, so far as I know," Medvedev said before Obama’s arrival in an interview with Italian news outlets. "I have heard what my colleague President Obama has been saying. And so we are very much looking forward to the visit of the president of the United States."

What Obama has been saying is that the United States needs to reset its basic relationship with Russia. As he told a Russian-language news channel in the days before the summit: "America respects Russia. We want to build relations where we deal as equals."

Yet he also caused a stir in Russia by telling The Associated Press last week that Putin has to learn that "the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations are outdated." That only elevated the stakes of Obamas first meeting with Putin, which is set for Tuesday.

Russia and the United States have been allies and adversaries. Obama inherited more of the latter, with relations having sunk in 2008 over Russia’s war with neighboring Georgia.

Obama got off to a solid start, though, with Medvedev during an April meeting in London.

Security tops agenda

The summit starts a weeklong trip for Obama that also features G-8 meetings and a visit with the pope in Italy, and a speech in Ghana.

Obama’s mission in Moscow is two-pronged, divided over two days. Building ties and inking security and cultural deals with the leadership comes first. He will also devote a prominent amount of time to leaders of Russia’s civil society to help those relationships, too.

There is plenty of room for improvement. Obama, who has enjoyed adoring crowds in travels across Europe so far, will face a skeptical Russian population, polling out Sunday shows.

Only 23 percent of Russians have confidence in Obama to do the right thing in international affairs, according to the University of Maryland’s WorldPublicOpinion.org. Just 15 percent of the Russians polled said the U.S. is playing a positive role in the world; most said the United States abuses it power and makes Russia do what the U.S. wants.

Aiming to change attitudes, Obama will outline his vision for U.S.-Russian relations at a speech at the New Economic School. It is unclear how many people will see it. Russian leaders control the television outlets.

The dominant theme of the summit is security, and Obama and Medvedev are set to announce progress toward renewing a strategic arms reduction pact that expires in December. The eventual deal could cut warheads from more than 2,000 each to as low as 1,500 apiece.

Russia is also agreeing to let the United States use its territory and air space to move arms into Afghanistan for the forces fighting extremists there. That deal, a big breakthrough for Obama in dealing with a widening war, was announced before Obama’s arrival.

The two sides remain in a stalemate over the U.S. pursuit of a missile-defense system in Europe. Obama’s administration is reviewing the efficacy of plan, which Bush had pushed hard.

U.S. leaders have expressed hope of getting Russian cooperation on missile defense. But both sides have also shown signs of hardening their positions ahead of the summit.

The basic problem is unchanged: The U.S. contends the program is designed to protect U.S. allies in Europe from a potential nuclear attack by Iran, but the Russians see it as a first step toward a system that could weaken their offensive nuclear strike potential.

"We’re going to have to work our way through that," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told "Fox News Sunday."