MOSCOW, November 7 (Itar-Tass) — Barack Obama's reelection to the office of the President in the U.S. implies a generally encouraging course towards Russia but a splash of propaganda may be expected in the U.S. in the coming few weeks, a leading expert on Russian-American relations told a news conference here Wednesday.
"Propagandistic rhetoric will obviously surge when the U.S. Congress gathers for the lame duck session," Dr. Sergei Rogov, the director of the Institute for U.S. and Canada Studies reporting to the Russian Academy of Sciences said.
"I think the whole story will end up in the adoption of the so-called Magnitsky list by the House of Representatives, which will simultaneously leave the Jackson-Vanick amendment in place," he said. "This may have the most serious circumstances and Russia will react to the situation beyond any doubt."
"After a while, the Obama Administration may put forward a new agenda for relations with Russia," Dr. Rogov said. "It will likely concern cooperation on Afghanistan and a further slashing of nuclear armaments to the level of 1,000 warheads."
"On our side, the latter issue will most certainly be tied up to the problem of the antiballistic missile system," he said. "Very serious discussions of the problem may begin sometime next year and if the sides manage to tap compromise solutions, new legal and political documents may come into existence in 2014."
"As for the problem of Georgia's accession to NATO, it will most probably be raised but no practical steps towards the real membership will be taken," Dr. Rogov said. "Generally speaking, I don't think the Obama Administration will bring the U.S.-Russian relations to a serious crisis of any kind."