Oct. 22 (LPAC)--Speaking at a conference on U.S.-Soviet Relations in the Era of Detente, 1969-1976, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice adopted a rather moderate tone with regard to U.S.-Russian relations today. While elaborating on how the Helsinki process had led to the desire of freedom and democracy, she indicated that Russians did not see the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the same bright terms as did scholars in the West. "We can't fully connect unless we see our history in common terms,'' Rice said. She warned about all the hype over a "New Cold War" with Russia. "We have our differences with Russia, but Russia is not the Soviet Union. All this Cold War chatter distorts the challenges before us. We must understand the Russian view of its past, even though we don't agree with it.

"Russia and the United States share many common interests. We are partners in the Middle East peace process through the Quartet. Russia and the U.S. are leading the fight for non-proliferation,'' she said.

On Iran she said, "We have many differences over tactics, but we have a common diplomatic strategy with two paths: One, if Iran chooses to cooperate, and another, if they refuse to cooperate,'' giving the impression, of course, that Russia has accepted the possibility of the second alternative--a somewhat dubious assumption.  She noted that "Secretary Gates and I offered some new ideas of cooperation on our visit there.'' The discussion in Moscow "leads us to think that Russia can ratify the CFE Treaty" referring to the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. She went on: "We can't be consumed by our differences. Russia and the U.S. can disagree, but we won't have to destroy the work we're doing. America's relation with Russia will remain large and complex. We have done great things before, and we can do the same in the future.''

Henry Kissinger, speaking on the panel immediately following Rice's keynote, seconded Rice's comments in his conclusion: "America and Russia have some common interests, and they should be able to cooperate to some considerable extent." He added, "It's important to have a permanent dialogue and not one just geared to immediate issues, but one that can look five years ahead." He suggested that the forum initiated by Rice's and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' recent visit to Moscow could provide for such a future dialogue.