‘We need Russia, and Russia needs us’ – former Reagan adviser to RT

Talking is easier and cheaper than using weapons, Suzanne Massie says

The US and Russia must find a way to resume dialogue as good bilateral relations are vital for both countries, Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history who advised the administration of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, has told RT.

Massie, who is considered to have played an important role in efforts to end the Cold War, said in an interview on Tuesday that her desire is now to help Washington and Moscow start talking again. “I believe that we [the US] need Russia, and Russia needs us,” Massie argued.

The two countries “should go and find a way to get back to discussing something else besides war,” the former adviser insisted, referring to the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has described the fighting in the neighboring country as a “proxy war” waged by the Americans and their allies against Moscow.

“It’s a lot easier and a lot cheaper [to talk] than to use weapons,” the 92-year-old added.

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Massie, who first visited the Soviet Union in the 1960s, has been studying Russia and writing about it all her life. She described St. Petersburg, where she owns a small apartment, as a “home away from home.” 

The American scholar has published five books on Russia, including ‘Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia’, which is said to have impressed President Reagan and sparked his own interest in Russia.

Massie said that her recent decision to pass her whole archive over to the Russian Presidential Library in St. Petersburg was part of her efforts to mend ties between the US and Russia.