As the U.S. slips, Russia is soaring.

Russia

Stanislav Tarasov

Rossiiskie Vesti

Russia is back as a major player in world events, said Stanislav Tarasov in Moscow’s Rossiiskie Vesti. Ever since the U.S. squandered its credibility by invading Iraq on false pretenses, American influence has been plummeting. And “Moscow is starting to fill that vacuum in world leadership.” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seems to be everywhere at once, the go-to man for leaders across the globe. No wonder the Americans are so “noticeably annoyed.” The U.S. State Department “simply can’t keep up with all the Kremlin’s diplomatic initiatives.” Russia was the first country outside the Middle East to start talking with the new Palestinian Hamas government. It’s the only country that has come up with any suggestions for compromise in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programs. And it is setting a global agenda by hosting the Group of Eight summit this year. Jealous and frustrated, American diplomats keep “trying to humiliate Russia and discredit its foreign policy.” They’d do better to concentrate on rescuing their own “ineffective policies.” Bad-mouthing Russia won’t make America look any better.

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