Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin criticized American law enforcement agencies on Tuesday for breaking up an what they described as a Russian espionage ring in the United States, as other Russian officials questioned whether the arrests were intended to damage relations between the countries.

Mr. Putin, at a meeting with former President Bill Clinton, brought up the subject.

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev enjoyed tasty (if not particularly healthy) hamburgers and fries and had a productive meeting in the Oval Office. And while traditional security issues were on the bilateral agenda—arms control, the aftermath of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, the situation in Kyrgyzstan—economic matters took pride of place in the discussion.

At the summit G8: Russia is more interested in economical and technological cooperation with U.S.

«My goal is to see how everything works here,» Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on his arrival in the United States this week, referring to his plans to build a Russian analog of Silicon Valley in Skolkovo, just outside of Moscow. «This is not a tour.»

The president of the United States and the president of Russia enjoyed quite a summer’s day on Thursday: Grab some burgers, joke about Twitter, take a walk in the park.

No summit, no sanctions, no weapons treaty. Yet they did strike a deal on chicken exports.

This is the new day, on intentional display, between President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. It’s not all about nukes. Obama’s first time hosting Medvedev at the White House will probably be remembered most for the extent to which they got along like a couple of buddies.

Understanding events that don’t happen can sometimes be as important as understanding the ones that do. Russia’s non-intervention in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month is a good example that should be on the minds of U.S. policymakers when Presidents Obama and Medvedev meet on June 24. Some of Russia’s reasons for not acting were reassuring, others less so. Ethnic cleansing and mass disorder ought to be a reminder that Russia and the United States can have common interests. But these events also make clear why real cooperation is so hard.

Russia is on a global marketing drive. The country desperately wants to reinvigorate the level of foreign investment, which has dropped off alarmingly since 2008. But, according to bankers and economists, international investors are waiting for more clarity about how the rules of the game have changed since the financial crisis. They want to see more evidence that the country's economy can deliver the kinds of returns that will compensate them for the perceived risk of doing business in Russia.

With his first state visit to the U.S. set for next week, Mr. Medvedev said he hoped to complement the progress reached in recent months with Washington on security issues like nuclear-arms reduction with new steps to boost languishing economic ties.

It’s past time, and high time, for NATO to reshape itself for the threats of this century, from terrorism to cyberwar. But budget cuts, a difficult war in Afghnistan, and a preoccupation with a debt crisis will make this a hard sell.

NATO is years overdue for a major review of its purpose. The last time the transatlantic military alliance looked in the mirror was 1999 — before 9/11, before widespread cyberattacks, before Russia veered from the democratic path under Vladimir Putin.

The leader who bashed America and embraced Stalin is now backing a major thaw in Russian foreign policy.

Just three years ago, Vladimir Putin was raving about America trying to become «the one single master» of the world and blasted NATO for «creeping up to Russia’s borders.» He also commissioned a rewrite of Russian-history textbooks to glorify the role of Stalin, alarming the world with the suggestion that a rehabilitation of the Soviet dictator was imminent. Now the tone of Russia’s top leader could not be more different. Rather than railing against the West, Prime Minister Putin talks of business deals with Europe and America, of trade zones and loans. And instead of glorifying Stalin, early last month