Obama's Russia reset goes into reverse gear after Putin snub
Obama came into office seeking a new relationship with an old adversary, but Putin's return to the Russian presidency signalled a return to hostility
US President Barack Obama's decision to snub Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin sends their relationship to a new low.
Four years after declaring a new era between the two former cold war adversaries and after some early successes in forging fresh co-operation, Obama concluded that the two sides had grown so far apart again that there was no longer any point in sitting down with Putin.
His decision to deny the Russian leader a one-on-one meeting in Moscow that would have served as a high-profile opening act to the Group of 20 summit in St Petersburg next month marks the first time an American leader has called off such a trip in decades.
Even before Russia granted temporary asylum to former security contractor Edward Snowden, Obama's advisers were questioning the value of the planned one-on-one meeting next month because Putin hasn't responded to a series of US initiatives, according to a US administration official who asked not to be identified to discuss the relationship.
Unlike the cold war nuclear stand-off, when a conflict between the two nations risked mutual destruction, the downturn in relations has little immediate consequence. Rather, it reflects the setbacks already encountered by Obama and the diminished importance of Russia as the US shifts its attention to China's rising economic and military power.