[War] Russia/USA: "Mr. Nemerenko Goes to Washington"

[Michael Downey]

"Mr. Nemerenko Goes to Washington"
President Nemerenko, Russian Federation
President Williams, United States of America
7 March 2013
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As soon as the US State Department had agreed, Nemerenko was on a
plane bound for Washington. True, he could have simply picked up a
phone and spoken to Williams in an instant, but years in the
diplomatic trade had taught Nemerenko that face-to-face meetings were
the most effective in doing business.

"We are of course very happy to have you here in Washington, Mr.
President," said the pretty young liaison from State that had met
Nemrenko and his entourage at Andrews Air Force Base.

"I am sure," replied Nemerenko. There was just something about this
visit that did not feel right to him. He and Williams got along well
enough, relations between Russia and America were on an upward beat.
He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

In the White House, John Williams looked out at Washington in the
sunrise from a second-floor solarium; Kay had been up early with him,
the two of them trying to maintain a normal routine despite events in
Korea. He knew that across the river, Leonid Nemerenko had just
landed; met by a State rep to keep this sudden visit low-profile. His
morning briefings had just finished up, but despite recent natural
events, he wasn't going to pin himself to the Situation Room. For one
thing, Kay and his doc had both informed him that they would kill him,
slowly and painfully, if he took the chance to return to a 20-hour
workday. He'd gotten 8 hours of sleep the night before, for the first
time since Kim Jong Il's death; he'd been getting 6 hours at best
since then. Even without events in Korea, today was a slow day for
him. Kay would be off in Virginia at a conference on special
education, as much for her own professional development as for any
ceremonial or official reasons.

Something felt off today. Russian-American relations were doing fine,
him and Nemerenko got along fine. What was it, then?

John did the only thing he could do: Push it from his mind for now, as
he heard a knock at the door. "Enter!" he called out.

In strode not a staffer, but Iulius. John stood then, smiling and
greeting his friend, his brother in the Greek fashion, embracing
tightly and with a kiss on each cheek, a gesture Abbot returned.

"Figured you'd want me around for the meeting with Nemerenko," SECDEF
noted in Greek.

"Nai. Chris should be about, too, but, on the other hand, we have an
hour; Russians decided a helo would be too noticeable."

A nod at that. "You slept, even. Good, Ioannes, I thought you'd try
your usual trick again," Iulius teased lightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. On the other hand, this is one of those times I
wish we used a common calendar for Easter." Abbot being Greek
Orthodox, he'd lucked out: 2013 saw Western Easter falling on March
31, while the Eastern Churches saw Easter falling on May 5. In other
words, POTUS was smack in the middle of Lent, and was suffering. Cruel
staffers had teased him with hamburgers the past two Fridays, to his
deep grumpiness.

"Something to bring up with Rome and Constantinople. Because you
aren't the only one. Easter weeks before the school year ends? Someone
save me."

That had the President chuckling. "You poor, poor man."

"Yeah, because I just *know* Alexander's godfather is going to give
him and Tim lots and lots of candy." Said godfather got a glare, and
gave a sheepish grin in response.

"Hey, I'm a good uncle, what can I say?" Pause. "Actually, found out
after Mass yesterday, but forgot to tell you given the insanity.
Cardinal talked to Archbishop Demetrios; They decided that, for
pastoral reasons, neither East nor West has any objection to you being
the godfather. Nuncio got confirmation from Rome, and Archbishop
Demetrios from Constantinople."

Iulius smiled again at that. "I was wondering if they would."

"I'd told the Cardinal, I wouldn't trust anyone else as my child's
godfather. It was that simple."

"It never is."

"Maybe."

With that, the two began one of the customs they'd developed this
Lent, kneeling in prayer together before an icon of the Theotokos that
had been a gift of the local Greek Orthodox parish.

15 minutes later, there was a light tapping on the doorway. Major
Jeffries, the Air Force officer who was the military aide
(and "football carrier") on duty that morning, was there, the
Briefcase of Doom nearby. "Figured I'd warn you both: Hill is 5
minutes out, his driver is saying. Nemerenko is 45. You going to want
the briefing book?"

A shake of the head from Abbot, and a similar shake of the head from
Williams. "Nah, I read up when the briefers came over, and I'm
guessing Iulius did the same," POTUS replied.

5 minutes later, Secretary of State Christopher Hill arrived.

The next 30 minutes were spent in conversation about events in Korea,
until finally an aide announced that Nemerenko was 10 minutes out.

With that, everybody walked downstairs, to meet the Russian President
in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Once he got to the White House, of
course, the need for a low profile would no longer exist.

As Williams and his entourage headed down, Nemerenko took a moment to
admire the Zuber et Cie panorama Jackie Kennedy had decorated the room
in, negating the lack of windows. Nemerenko appreciated American art.
Russian art since the fall of the tzars tended to be cold, realistic
and industrial in nature; it didn't really echo any feelings other
than a grim malaise.

"He's got to be wondering why we're here," said Yevgeni in Russian as
Nemrenko studied the panorama. "We dropped in with two days notice
just before a major summit with the Chinese in Beijing."

"I am sure he has some inckling of an idea," replied Nemerenko. "I'm
almost surprised Hong didn't invite an American delegation."

Speaking of delegations, Williams and co had finally arrived.
Nemerenko immediately recognized Secretary Hill, and the other man he
suspected was Julius Abbot. Leonid was never good with putting names
to faces. And of course POTUS himself.

"President Williams," said Nemerenko in English. He and Denemetov had
spent the past month or so conversing solely in the language during
their private meetings as practice. As this was America, he felt it
polite to speak their language. "Thank you for seeing me on such short
notice. The State Department was very helpful."

Williams smiled, replying in Russian without skipping a beat;
Fortunately, everybody on his side was fluent.

"Not a problem, Mr. President. State tends to work better when all
Hell is breaking loose." A grin. "On that note, welcome to America. To
my left is Julius Abbot, Secretary of Defense. To my right,
Christopher Hill, Secretary of State."

After the usual introductions, Williams turned, as a puppy, apparently
a German Shepherd, walked in. The dog walked ahead of POTUS as the
group walked, heading upstairs to the Residence.

"Given the short notice, I figured it'd be simpler to avoid the Oval
Office. Besides, there's people spending the day trying to figure out
how to baby-proof the West Wing. I figured it'd be quieter not working
around the Tech Services crew," Williams noted.

As the group reached the second floor, they headed to the same
solarium that the Americans had used before the Russians had arrived;
it had been somewhat tidied up by the housekeeping staff while
everybody was downstairs, so that the 5 or 6 newspapers that had
covered the table weren't there anymore.

"Gentlemen, might I get you anything? Coffee, tea, soda, water?"
Williams asked in Russian as everyone entered.

"No, nothing, thank you," said Nemerenko. A few of his delegation
accepted a beverage so as to not give of a feeling of hostility or
guardedness from the Russians. "I take it you already suspect why I am
here, President Williams?"

Williams poured the respective beverages casually, bringing it over,
him and Abbot kissing the icon on the wall reverently as they passed.

"I could guess," POTUS replied as everyone takes their seats and he
sets the drinks beside the requesters, glasses of water for the
Americans. "China, right? Korea's going to hell, and you
are...concerned as to the effects on Russia. In part because you've
backed the Chinese horse, and you're alarmed by their stumbling."

He's speaking casually, almost offhandedly.

"I can't blame you for being concerned, but I must admit that I
was...surprised at the Russian Federation's open support of Chinese
activities.

"Yes, occasionally such unilateral peacekeeping operations are needed.
But it's basically been clear that even if we all agree in private
that something had to be done, such unilateral action isn't to be
encouraged. That's been the case since the Middle Ages."

"If you want me to express regret over supporting China, then I cannot
oblige you," replied Nemerenko with a casual shrug. "North Korea was a
dangerous threat to Russia, to the Far East, and the world at large. A
REAL threat, not a trumped up one." He didn't want to come right out
and slap Williams in the face with Iraq, jumping right down their
throats on that one would start things of to a bad foot, but he had to
emphasize the necessity of what was done. "True, I am concerned
because their occupation shows signs of faltering. That is unrelated.
North Korea had nuclear weapons, had openly admitted to having nuclear
weapons, and could strike Eastern Russia with them. When Jong Il died,
China had the option of letting those fall into the hands of even more
insane maniacs or step in.

"Now, I have a vested interest in China succeeding in North Korea. My
country did not have prior knowledge or participation in the invasion,
but it has happened regardless, and it will be worse for Russia to
stand by and do nothing and let them fail. I know that you do not
trust Hong. Neither do I, to be honest. However, all of us will lose
out if they fail. Maybe not the United States directly, but your
allies the South Koreans and the Japanese certainly will.

"Hong has invited myself, the Japanese Prime Minister and the South
Korean President to a summit in Beijing. All that I ask, the single
measure of support that I request from you, is that America use its
influence with these nations to suggest they consider support for
China. Nothing more. As it is with me, they did not know or help with
China's invasion, but will suffer if North Korea collapses any
further."

Williams looks thoughtful, as Secretary Hill voices what the Americans
are thinking. "Unfortunately, Mr. President, the question which
puzzles us is this: *What* are China's objectives?

"The United States has, for 60 years, always been in favor of a
reunified Korean peninsula under the flag of the ROK.

"China did not go into Korea with a peacekeeping force. Artillery does
peacekeeping badly. They may have gone in to smash the warlords, which
would make sense, and their objectives -now- may well *be*
peacekeeping. But the Chinese government has been very silent as -to-
their objectives, which I think you could agree does not bode well.
Given that they rejected our offer for ROK and USFK deployment to the
Pyongyang area to take the load off of them and to enable them to pull
troops back to China to assist in relief efforts, given that they have
their artillery deployed along the DMZ and targeted at South Korea,
what reason do we have to believe that their objectives are not the
establishment of a puppet government in Pyongyang?" Hill did not bring
up the crazier theory heading about, that China was simply going to
incorporate the former DPRK into China, perhaps as an SAR. POTUS,
SECDEF, and him had deemed -that- unlikely.

POTUS spoke up, then. "Mr. President, we will encourage our allies in
the region to at least consider the matter.

"But for decades, the complaint has been that America wants to rule
the world, wants to dominate Asia and suborn its governments to her
control.

"No, actually, but nobody believed that. So, my administration is
going to clearly step back, let regional allies take the lead without
interference from us. We'll support their decision.

"I will certainly -suggest- that they *consider* participating, but I
am not the type to harbor Bush or Cheney-like fantasies of pulling the
strings on the world."

Then, he leans forward, his voice taking on an edge. "By the way: Iraq
was 10 years ago, and two of those on the American side saw combat in
that theater and have the physical scars to prove it. Far more than
anyone on your side can say. So *don't* go dragging that out. Drop
that old horse; it's long since dead, and I am rather insulted by its
continued use as a strawman.

"It isn't much of a strawman when you've carried the caskets of too
many soldiers to count who died there, when *you* wake up with
nightmares of friends dying."

"Our actions echo much longer than ten years, John," said Nemerenko.
The edge in Williams voice did not phase the Russian leader. "You
can't turn back the clock. How much blood you and your countrymen shed
for Iraqi oil does not really have much relevence on the fact that
you, the United States of America, set the precedent of unilateral
action that China now uses. Even if you now recant that doctorine, it
is still set. If you want to feel insulted that *I* and the rest of
the *world* must deal with the ramifications of *America*'s past
actions, go ahead. All that indigation will not change history. You
may not be Bush, you may not be Cheney, but their actions and the
consequences fall upon the feet of your country whether you like it or
not. I do not want oil, I do not want land, I do not want anything but
stability for the Far East. I did not spur China to do what it did,
but I will do what I must to create stability, in the long run."

Now SECDEF speaks, after giving his friend and boss a look meaningful
only to the two of them. His speech, after decades, still carries the
accent of his native Greece, even as he speaks in Russian.

"Alright, fair points, but be careful how you use that stick.

"We're still burying friends from that war, Leonid Nikolayevich. The
two of us are *still* attending funerals for people we
knew, people who took years to die from wounds, or who killed
themselves because they couldn't deal with the memories. Everyone in
this room sees your point, but have a bit of sensitivity. That is an
open wound, for one thing. For another, there's the impression that
*this* administration is being judged as if we, not our predecessors,
sent the troops into Iraq. Judge us for us, okay?

"That said. You want stability, okay. So do we. But is anyone in this
room really convinced that the Chinese offer any hope to that at the
long-term? Or do you think that the weapons that went missing will
just be used against wildlife?

"As the United States observes the situation in Korea...Frankly, the
Chinese are doing good now, but how long will it be before the PLA is
regarded as just another foreign invader? Wouldn't it be better to
work *now* on what seems the only viable long-term solution, of
reunifying the Korean Peninsula under Seoul?

"Or do we want to risk the Chinese crawling out of Korea after being
bloodied by a counterinsurgency campaign, and then dropping the
problem into Seoul's lap by default?"

POTUS has visibly calmed by this point, and has mostly been listening.

"Allow me to emphasize Secretary Abbot's concern," he notes.

"Right now, the Chinese are doing a good job. But North Korea was
*never* a really viable state. Whether it was the Soviet Union or the
PRC, it only survived with outside supply of virtually everything. The
Korean Peninsula works best unified, so why not push things so that
Korean reunification is less of a botch than German reunification was?

"I don't see the Chinese moving in that direction. Setting up a new
North Korean government, maybe...But they aren't preparing for the
long-term, not from what I can see," Williams concludes. "If you have
evidence to the contrary, I would be happy to see it...But I have no
evidence they're not just handling it short term until they can set up
a puppet government and get out of there, which would simply delay the
problem."

"I certainly can't say that I disagree," replied Nemerenko. "If I
could just wave my magic wand and have the PLA leave and let the ROK
take over the country I would. Minister Denemetov has actually spoken
to President Hong about this subject. Hong feels that, and I am simply
telling you what she told us, it is unrealistic and immoral to simply
join the two Koreas together as quickly as possible. It is China's
intent to build a new, apparently democratic, North Korean government
with its own military forces. An entirely new and independent state.
After that, they will supposedly allow the new North Korean government
to negotiate reunification on their own."

"An 'apparently democratic' North Korean government, built by China."
Williams actually smiles. "If we believe that, we're pathetically
gullible."

"No, that seems to be saying that the Chinese will build, at best, a
vassal state. One which would never negotiate for reunification,
because it would not be in China's interests."

"That may be too much of an assumption on our part," pointed out
Denemetov. "I must agree that any new administration China puts into
North Korea will at best only have the outward appearance of a
democracy, but what does China have to gain by preventing unification?"

Williams replied without hesitation. "One: A reunified Korea,
especially now, will be the ROK, just spread to the Yalu. It would be
a danger for the CCP if, not that far from Beijing, their people saw a
healthy, working democracy. Which, though with the occasional
screwups, the ROK is. The Chinese people would see, just over the
river, run by a people who used to be a tributary state of China, a
first-world democracy.

"Two: The Chinese want a Korea that refrains from security cooperation
with those not approved by China. A reunified Korea, *especially* now,
would be less likely to play along on that.

"Three: The Chinese, given their huge sacrifices in the Korean War,
feel they have an ownership stake in Korea. The South Koreans are
likely to disagree. Keep in mind that in the 19th Century, China ran
Korea's foreign affairs, and influence over Korea helped spark the
1895 Sino-Japanese war.

"Finally, who knows? Hong might see it to her advantage to play
the 'Greater China' card domestically, and in that case, why -not-
start with Korea?"

"Hong has to know that the world community will not stand by and let
the PRC annex North Korea," said Nemerenko. Unlike Denemetov he had no
problem seeing Williams' fears as coming true, with the exception of
the fourth one. "They would at the very least suffer severe trade
sanctions that would not make it worth the cost."

Williams looked thoughtful. "That'd hurt us as much as them, though.
Unless there are ways to make the global
community less dependent on China, I have a feeling Hong knows we
can't do that without hurting ourselves. In short, she can do what she
likes, and unless we're willing to draw blades, we have no retaliatory
leverage.

"The US exported 5.3% of exports to the PRC, and gets 15.9% of imports
from them. Their numbers are 21% and 7.5%.

"So are those trade sanctions really much, or would they just spur
China to develop independently, as Jefferson's embargo from before the
war of 1812 spurred US industry to develop?"

"Then what would you have us do?" questioned Nemerenko. "I am not
willing to either go to war or suspend trade with China over North
Korea." In fact he was perfectly content to LET China have the blasted
country, so long as order was maintained in the Far East.

"Simple: Boycott em." Williams replies. "Just encourage consumers not
to buy Chinese where they can, and to push for alternative suppliers
where they can't." Given the amount of state intervention in Russia's
economy, he had to bring it up.

"It is not that simple for us," said Denemetov. "Our economy may have
improved over the past few years with market reform, but we are not
the monetary powerhouse that America is. We need trading partners
wherever we can find them, and China is a major consumer of oil, one
of our chief exports." Not to mention the United States didn't have
the largest army in the world right next to it. "I trust you mean such
a step only as a last resort, should our fears about China's intent be
true?"

"Yes, and the glances I'm getting," Williams notes, indicating
the 'Are you braindead this morning?' glances *both* of his cabinet
secretaries were giving him, "indicate that while that looked
interesting to throw at the wall, nobody but me finds it appealing." A
sheepish grin. "It happens. Idea withdrawn, even in the worst case."

At that point, Abbot grins mischievously and passes his boss a note
discreetly, in Greek.

"On the -other- hand, my best friend proved to be a step ahead of me
again," Williams notes with a grin after reading it.

"I know Russia has...a small horde of hackers that you've...neglected
to prosecute. So how about we put them to good use?" There's a twinkle
in the President's eyes now.

"How useful do you think an information operations campaign would be
against China?"

Nemerenko and Denemetov exchanged looks. This was not what they had
expected. Nemerenko certainly didn't trust Hong, and would be rather
surprised if the Americans did. But Williams was very quickly moving
towards direct antagonizim of China. That was concerning.

"I will take no hostile action, overt or covert, against China over
North Korea," said Nemerenko. "I will certainly withdraw my political
support if needed, but I see nothing to gain by pissing off my
superpower neighbor over North Korea. I would LIKE to see a
democratic, unified Korean state. There are limits to what I am
willing to sacrifice to achieve it. As I have stated before, Russia is
just trying to create stability out of a situation we are not
responsible for."

Williams nodded. Good, there was an admission there. "Exactly what I
hoped to hear. Before you think me mad or trying to start World War
III: There is a world of difference between a passive 'might makes
right' stability, and a stability based on a degree of justice," he
replied calmly.

"Meekly accepting Chinese domination of North Korea is the former.
Will China have a role in the settlement of the Korean issue? Of
course. But the Koreans should be the ones who decide what that means.

"Currently, China is forcing the international community to accept it
as the arbiter of Korea's fate. Bad idea, from my point of view, for
everybody. *When* Korea is reunified, if we have let China play at
being the arbiter of fate, then we'll see a unified Korea with a
massive grudge against China; Exactly how China still tries to shake
off domination by the West, really.

"Where I hope to see Korea in one year's time:

"One: Chinese troops out, replaced ideally by ROK and USFK forces,
plus whoever, excluding China, decides to contribute, all acting under
the flag of the UN Command. Yes, this follows from the original 1950
resolutions, in my mind: It's merely the conflict termination and post-
conflict phases of the Korean War. This mission would be pure
peacekeeping and reconstruction.

"Two: North Korea cannot, immediately, be integrated into the ROK.
There's something like a factor of 22 separating the economies of
North and South. So perhaps we should resurrect the Trusteeship
Committee? Place the North under an ROK-run UN trusteeship, with the
idea that over time, North and South will reunify of their own accord.

"Three: US forces will be removed from Korea *only*: A. when the ROK
obviously no longer needs us, and can actually handle matters on their
own, something that is not the case just yet; and B. When the
government of the *ROK* formally requests their pullout. When A and B
occur, -then- we'll begin planning for the end of USFK, the stand-down
of the UN Command, etc.

"Four: A peace treaty to end the Korean War must be negotiated by the
ROK and the PRC; Yes, -legally-, the Chinese People's Volunteers were
not an official organization of the PRC. However, in that case, who
the hell can sign the peace treaty for them, especially as the DPRK no
longer exists?"

"An ambitious plan," said Nemerenko. "And I can't say that I disagree.
But consider this: the Chinese think of themselves as the hegemonic
leaders of East Asia. If there was a civil war in Mexico, would you
allow Chinese or Russian peacekeepers to assume full control of the
situation? Pride will definetly prevent China from simply turning
control of North Korea right over to you and the South Koreans. I do
not believe the PLA will simply pack up and head back over the Yalu.

"I also don't think they will allow the UN Trusteeship Council to run
North Korean in the interim between a possible unification. They are
already investing considerable time and resources into this new North
Korean national government and the so-called NKA. A project of that
size indicates they are prepared to do things their way for the long
run."

He sighed. It was a difficult situation, to say the least. China held
all the cards, and there was no way to simply bully them into what the
Americans wanted without creating a risk of hostilites.

"The Chinese may be forced to bargin more closely with you and the
South Koreans over international participation and oversight if the
situation in North Korean deteriorates beyond their capacity to deal
with, but such a scenario would likely mean the deaths of millions of
North Koreans.

"If that is the case, we would be facing the worst refugee crises
since the end of the Great Patriotic War. Tens, maybe hundreds, of
thousands of North Korean refugees will flee the country. And they
won't head for the South. The DMZ is the most heavily mined, patrolled
and fortified barrier on Earth. No, the refugees will head into China,
and into Russia. Dealing with a wave such as that will be incredibly
taxing upon the Federation, not to mention the fact that the refugees
would carrier innumerable diseases with them. A marching plague."

"It might be more realistic to allow the Chinese control of North
Korea for the moment to keep them sated and open to negotiation, and
at the same time use the prospect of Western material support for
American and ROK participation in the construction of the new North
Korean national government," suggested Denemetov. "We may have to
accept that in this situation, we have no viable options to force
China to give up North Korea without resorting to hostilites. A
scenario Russia must obviously prevent."

"You may be right, but we need to plan for other options. Such as if
that refugee flow happens. Would you be adverse to having US-Russian
on-the-ground planning teams in Vladivostok and Anchorage? We may as
well start preparing *now* for a refugee flow, rather than howling if
it happens. And if our planning winds up being unnecessary, okay.
We've had training experience and know where to focus research to
better deal with mass refugee events in the future," Secretary Abbot
proposed.

"A possibility," Williams allowed. "But overall? I'm not going to
concede dominance of Korea or any part of Asia to China, any more than
I or my predecessors would necessarily concede a right of dominance to
Russia in regards to Eastern Europe. Not without doing what's
reasonably useful to contest the matter first. We're not about to get
into a shootout if we can help it, but we're not going to meekly
concede anything to Beijing, either."

At that point, Secretary Abbot spoke up. "I think we've beaten that
horse into a coma for right now, but the Great Game aspect of this
discussion reminded me of a discussion I had the other day with a
cousin still back in my home village.

"President Nemerenko...Cyprus. Traditionally, out of Pan-Orthodox
sympathies to begin with, I know that Russia has tended to side with
the position of the Greek Cypriots and the Hellenic Republic on the
matter. What are the views of your government right now?"

Williams looked surprised at the topic choice, but curious.

"Well, you of course can proceed in dealing with China in whatever way
you see fit," said Nemerenko with a slight shrug. That was beyond his
power to control. "Just remember that I will remain neutral in any
political conflict between Beijing and Washington. As for your
proposal on the refugee threat, I can agree to such cooperation."

The Cyprus topic also suprised Nemerenko as well. It was of very
little relevence to Russia at the moment, and he hadn't prepped for it.

"Cyprus is outside of our sphere of interest," he said. "I have much
more pressing concerns, as you can imagine. You and the Greeks may do
as you like, I have no intent to become involved."

A nod. It raised the question of where the Russian sphere of interest
lay, but Williams wasn't the type for bear-baiting, pun
intended. "Moving on," he noted. "How receptive would the Federation
be to a Free Trade pact between our countries?"

At this point, Akela looked up at his human, walking over to sit on
the President's feet, tail wagging.

"Free trade with the United States would be very beneficial to both
our countries," said Nemerenko. As with Japan, America was a market
very hungry for raw resources and an excellent source of
high-technology goods. "I would have no problem having the Assembly
ratify a treaty."

That got a nod. "Okay then, you can expect a knock on the door from
USTR in a couple of days."

At that point, Akela, still a puppy (if a big one), gave his human a
whimper and big, sad, begging eyes. Then, he looked to Nemerenko and
did the same. Someone play with me, pleeeeeeaaaase? the dog seemed to
say.

"Hmm, I'll let you decide, Mr. President? Should we go and give Akela
the playtime he wants, or make him wait?" Williams asked, grinning at
his dog's begging to the Russian President.

"As always, it is a pleasure," said Nemerenko, rising to his feet. All
individuals present exchanged handshakes. "Our relationship has been
very beneficial up to this point, and it is my hope that
Russo-American cooperation such as this may continue."
---
Actions:
American:
1. Outline what the US desires as the objective state for North Korea
in one year.
2. Bat around scary-sounding options. Reject them all.
3. Get Russian promise of non-intervention if the US does anything re
Cyprus.
4. Get to know the Russian side.
5. Discuss Korea.
Russian:
1. Emphasize that Russia does not want to provoke hostilities with China.
2. Talk the USA into using its influence on Japan and South Korea to
have them proceed into the Beijing Summit with an open mind.
3. Work with the US military to prepare for the possibility of a mass
exodus of North Korean refugees into Russia and how to deal with them.
4. Sign a free trade treaty with the United States.