Medvedev and the Audacity of Hope

ivan_and_sam.jpgThere has been an increasing amount of friendly pressure from Russia on US president-elect Barack Obama’s administration, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has added his voice today.  From The Guardian:

Usually… when there is a change of power in any country, and even more so in a superpower such as the United States, some changes occur,‘ Putin observed.  ‘We very much hope that these changes will be positive. We are now seeing these positive signals.  If it’s not just words, if they are transformed into practical policy, we will respond accordingly, and our American partners will immediately feel that.

These warm sentiments were echoed by Dmitry Medvedev on his arrival in India today, although the Russian president’s delivery left a little to be desired.  You might say he gives new meaning to the phrase ‘the audacity of hope’:

We expect the new administrationand new president of the United States to take constructive andreasonable positions and to demonstrate a desire for compromise on themost complicated issues.

Does the expectation here seem a littleheavy-handed?  Or has something been lost in translation…