Moscow awaits Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to visit Moscow from March 18th-19th.

First of all, Hillary Clinton is to take part in the “Quartet” session on the Middle East crisis. It will also feature UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton. The mediators are facing a challenge to get the Middle East regulation out of deadlock and resume Palestinian-Israeli talks. The process seemed to have improved but Israel’s decision to continue its construction activity in East Jerusalem shattered everything. This decision was condemned by the world countries, including Israeli’s closest ally, the US.

Such a policy by Israel put US Vice-President Joe Biden in an awkward position and aggravated the Middle East situation even more. The four mediators are to discuss the issue and map out new ways out of the crisis.

Hillary Clinton is also to meet her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss the most essential issues of bilateral relations and global challenges including Iran’s and North Korean nuclear programs and Afghanistan.

The most interesting part is the new START Treaty which is also to be discussed in Moscow. Work on the Treaty has been going on for the past 3 months. The parties said the Treaty was 95-97 percent ready but some difficulties remained. A few days ago, the two presidents had a phone talk after which it became known that a possible date and place of signing the Treaty are being agreed upon. Maybe the Moscow talks will bring more details. Ukraine, for example, has expressed its readiness to host the signing. Sergey Lavrov appreciated the proposal but noted that the time and place of the signing are up to the presidents who are to coordinate their schedules.