It seems that with all the unlikely optimistic expectations for a thaw between Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, we are seeing Mikhail Gorbachev getting thrown into the debate like it was going out of style.  It seems that as much as the American observers insist that there is not a current Cold War between Russia and the United States, one can sense that there is a strong appetite for a Cold War solution.  This latest Gorbachev nod from Anton Fedyashin on PostGlobal is a couple of days old, but still worth reading:

Mikhail Gorbachev came to Washington last month as part of a tour inspired by the promise of a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations. The former General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and first Soviet President met with American academics and officials, including President Obama and Vice President Biden. Throughout his trip, he argued that the United States and Russia share three fundamental goals, all of which will be impossible to achieve without working as equal partners: controlling nuclear weapons, dealing with Islamic extremism, and cooperating on environmental issues. But finding common ground from which to negotiate won’t be easy.

Washington and Moscow will not agree on all the details, but Russian cooperation is indispensable on all three issues. The two countries have a long tradition of arms negotiations. Moscow has leverage over countries where the U.S. has lost credibility. And the Siberian forests, together with Brazil’s rainforest, constitute the planet’s second lung. The Obama administration has offered the Russians an open hand and Mr. Medvedev has reciprocated the kind gesture. Now begins the hard business of finding points of contact. (…)