Nevertheless, although Russia has been backsliding since Putin took power in 2000, his policies might have been worse had he been ostracized. In any case, a US boycott of the forthcoming summit would be a Russian triumph, as it would throw the West into disarray.
“开诚布公地就我们的忧虑进行讨论”，这一为与普京之流过从甚密辩解的理由已经被证明了有效吗？可能没有。不管怎样，尽管从2000年普京掌权后，俄罗斯就开始后退，但如果普京真被排斥在外，那么他的政策可能会更差劲。无论在哪种情况下，如果美国拒绝参加即将来临的首脑会议，这将是俄罗斯的胜利，因为这会让西方陷入一片混乱。