Dmitry Medvedev - Obama Presidency Oral History Dmitry Medvedev Index / People Transcripts Michael Kassen ...2011. We were supposed to meet with Medvedev , who was then the president... ...weren't going to get to meet with him. Medvedev went out of the country on a quickl... Derek Chollet ...reasons that he decided to return was [Dmitry] Medvedev 's handling of the Libya situation... ...by the then Russian president, Medvedev , that he decided to come back int... Michael McFaul ...back under Vladimir Putin and [Dimitry] Medvedev . And I would say, of anythin... ...had this window, I thought, with Medvedev that probably was not going to las... ...2009. That was going to be the first Medvedev -Obama meeting. And we set out as ... ...invaded Georgia. Putin is in charge. Medvedev is a puppet. Mr. President, you're no... ...ambition that had momentum in the Medvedev years but then failed was on th... ...argument. And we didn't want to offend Medvedev by meeting with the opposition. Tha... ...to ask about Obama's relationship with Medvedev , which seems really unique an... ...I think it mattered a lot both for Medvedev 's instrumental reasons but also hi... ...them many, many times. I got to know Medvedev pretty well, actually. I'll tell you ... ...The first meeting between Obama and Medvedev —remember what this is like for me. I'... ...we talked about. But he had never met Medvedev , and this was their first meeting. ... ...of things striking about what I thought Medvedev was trying to do. First, he had hear... ...he didn't come with any proposals. The Medvedev meeting was very different than that... ...all talk about Obama in the reset. For Medvedev , this was the biggest thing he wa... ...But after then, that was the end of Medvedev . I really sincerely believe and ... ...That was it for him. He didn't know it. Medvedev didn't know it. Medvedev thought to th... ...know it. Medvedev didn't know it. Medvedev thought to the very end that he had ... ...so despondent. But back to Obama and Medvedev . The other thing was, Medvedev ha... ...and Medvedev. The other thing was, Medvedev had read—I don't remember exactly, bu... ...very precise with his language. So is Medvedev . Medvedev comes from an intelligentsi... ...with his language. So is Medvedev. Medvedev comes from an intelligentsia family i... ...and Putin. No-drama Obama, very calm; Medvedev was very calm. And they did, over th... ...human rights thing, that would piss off Medvedev and we've got to avoid that stuff. I... ...and the night before Obama met with Medvedev , he got beat up. I was in touch wit... ...it on the internet.'” I think that Medvedev said that on purpose to say, “I'm ... ...[Mikhail] Khodorkovsky and others. Medvedev never pushed back. It wasn't like h... ...so I remember his advance team chased Medvedev and intercepted him. I think the... ...meeting in Deauville, France, where Medvedev had agreed for the use of force. Bu... ...remember—I think I alluded to it— Medvedev told Biden he was going to do that bac... ...Literally I could see the sweat on Medvedev 's face. This feels like a guy wh... ...I was there for the meeting with Medvedev . Remember, I oftentimes went to thes... ...I did not recognize him. It was Medvedev . And he was sitting in jeans and ... ...the election. Putin goes crazy. Medvedev calls Obama to complain about whethe... ...was; because as I told you before, Medvedev was a very calm guy. And he was like... ...why I was there. I was there for the Medvedev meeting. But I was in the car wit... ...I start in on the briefing for the Medvedev meeting, and it was about Libya mostly... ...by the way, Mike, I'm going to tell Medvedev that I'm going to name you as m... ...the way, Obama forgot to tell Medvedev this in the pull-aside. So he chase... ...Putin was coming back because he and Medvedev —they did not get along that well... ...me. From Obama's point of view and Medvedev 's point of view, and other senio... ...got harassed, Obama brought it up with Medvedev . We were in Seoul and in his littl... ...it. I remember Obama saying, “I told Medvedev to stop fucking with McFaul.” Yo... ...guys. He's got a different mindset than Medvedev . I was the guy saying, “We've got t... ...went to Moscow in 2009 and met with Medvedev and met with Putin and then spent ... ...he had a different world view than Medvedev . But the rest of the government wasn'... ...don't think there would've. I think had Medvedev been on the ticket running fo... ...protests. People were really upset that Medvedev stepped down and just kind of switche... ...including very senior people in the Medvedev government. So, a, that was alread... ...We have evidence for it. Medvedev 's response to the demonstrations wa... ...we were coming in to meet President Medvedev at his compound outside of town to tal... ...reputation. But I tell you that because Medvedev had a different approach, even afte... Show more... Derek Mitchell ...up as one of the first issues on which [Dmitry] Medvedev and Obama are able to find some commo... Michèle Flournoy ...it yet, because that was still the [Dmitry] Medvedev period, but we were seeing hints o... Jim Steinberg ...optimistic about maybe [Dimitry] Medvedev represented a different direction. ... ...and two, to hopefully maybe strengthen Medvedev 's hand in the future thing. Again, ... ...skeptical. But even if you didn't think Medvedev had much of a chance, and that he wa... ...the relationship between Obama and Medvedev ? Did that, in your mind, bear out th... ...in the policy. I was a skeptic about Medvedev . Part of it is I had a very brief an... ...over the Russian system, and that Medvedev was a pawn in the system. Personally, ... ...come of that period of cooperation when Medvedev is in power. You said you played a rol... Show more... John Brennan ...the relationship between Obama and [Dmitry] Medvedev , which seems relatively positive. Bu... Jake Sullivan ...Putin was behind it.” Even though [Dmitry] Medvedev was president. “He'll remain behin... Michael Mullen ...to their administration. Putin and [Dmitry] Medvedev were not talking to Bush. Condi Rice'... ...I went with President Obama to sign—and Medvedev and Obama were at the table and signe... ...Putin was in the background. It wasn't Medvedev that was making all these decisions... ...the State Department, I ask about the Medvedev -Obama relationship. But I was curiou... 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