Incite Russia, Inspire Angst

Vice President Biden: “I think we vastly underestimate the hand that we hold. Russia has to make some very difficult, calculated decisions. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable.”

Sergei Prikhodko: “The U.S. vice president's intention to tie this serious work (on cutting nuclear weapons stockpiles) to economic reasons rather than to the responsibility that Russia and the U.S. bear to the international community are absolutely incomprehensible.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "It takes time, it takes trust-building. And we want what the president called for during his recent Moscow summit. We want a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia. The Russians know that, you know, we have continuing questions about some of their policies, and they have continuing questions about some of ours.”