JRL NEWSWATCH: “Call Putin’s Bluff on Election Interference; The United States Should Take Russia Up on Its Offer to Sign a Pledge” – Foreign Affairs/ Anna Arutunyan

Multilingual Polling Place Sign from U.S. Election Polling Place

“The Kremlin has … pushed proposals for the United States and Russia to work together to protect elections against hacking …. Putin expanded the proposal into a package deal: the two countries would pledge not to interfere in each other’s internal political processes, and they would also restore dialogue, devise a mechanism to prevent cyberattacks, and share information on cybersecurity. … [T]hese suggestions have met with understandable ridicule in Washington … [T]he White House has repeatedly rebuffed them. But … once the smoke clears from the presidential election, the … U.S. … should consider saying ‘yes’ … to a noninterference pledge alone. Is the idea of a noninterference pact a good one? On paper, of course it is. Will Russian leaders do their part in good faith? Of course they won’t. … precisely why such a pact … might be worth a try: not because the United States can hope to forge a functional agreement with Moscow but in order to call Putin’s bluff. …”

Click here for: “Call Putin’s Bluff on Election Interference; The United States Should Take Russia Up on Its Offer to Sign a Pledge” – Foreign Affairs/ Anna Arutunyan

 

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