Russia

•Secretary Clinton will be in Germany next month to attend a "freedom party" to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Giant dominoes will tumble to symbolize the fall.

•Clinton met with Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, above, this afternoon in Washington.

•A Washington Post editorial commends Clinton for promoting democracy in Russia.

•Clinton pens an op-ed on world hunger and food security.

•Clinton unveiled the Sudan policy review with Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Scott Gration, the special envoy for Sudan.

•In London, The Times reports that Clinton was snubbed by Putin when she was in Russia last week to push sanctions against Iran.

•Clinton got a "mixed bag" of diplomatic results in Russia last week, writes FP Shadow Government blogger David J. Kramer.

Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton unveiled a statue of 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman at Moscow State University today. The statue -- from the D.C. mayor -- reciprocated a statue of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin that was presented to the U.S. capital from the Moscow mayor in 2000. The Pushkin statue stands on the campus of George Washington University, at 22nd and H streets NW.

Many people think Whitman was gay, and Russian gay-rights activists had called on Clinton to denounce anti-gay attitudes. Clinton did not mention gay rights in her brief remarks at the unveiling, but she has definitely done much to promote human rights and openness during her visit to Russia.

Photo: Valeriy Yevseyev, U.S. State Department

Secretary Clinton hasn't been shy about pushing for human rights and openness in Russia. Yesterday she met with human rights activists and opposition journalists in Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Today, she did an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio (great photos here) in which she continued to press for human rights.

During the interview (transcript here), she said:

I have no doubt in my mind that democracy is in Russia's best interests, that respecting human rights, an independent judiciary, a free media are in the interests of building a strong, stable political system that provides a platform for broadly shared prosperity. We will continue to say that and we will continue to support those who also stand for those values."

Referring to the killing of journalists in Russia, which she discussed at Spaso House, Clinton said:

I mentioned the killings of journalists, and I said that this is a matter of grave concern not just to the United States, but to the people of Russia, and not just to the activists, but to people who worry that unsolved killings are a very serious challenge to order and to the fair functioning of society, and that we did not believe that enough was being done to make sure that no one had impunity from prosecution who might have been involved in any such criminal acts."

It's great that Clinton spoke up for human rights and didn't let realpolitik get in the way, as some accuse her of doing in China in February.

Photo: Valeriy Yevseyev, U.S. State Deptartment

Secretary Clinton discussed Iran with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow today. As one senior U.S. official put it, Clinton wanted to know "what specific forms of pressure Russia would be prepared" to join the United States in if Iran didn't keep its promises about not developing nuclear weapons.

Lavrov proved tough, though, and didn't pledge tougher sanctions against Iran, stating at a news conference afterward that sanctions would be counterproductive at this point. "All forces should be aimed at supporting talks," he said.

Clinton doesn't support tougher sanctions at this time either, saying at the news conference, "But we are not at that point yet. That is not a conclusion we have reached. And we want to be very clear that it is our preference that Iran works with the international community … to fulfill its obligation on inspections."

Clinton said that overall her discussion with Lavrov was "very comprehensive and productive." "I feel very good about the so-called reset," she said.

Clinton met later with human rights activists and opposition journalists and concluded her day by attending the opera The Love for Three Oranges at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images

Later today, Clinton heads to Europe, where she'll visit the following places and do the following things:

Zurich, Switzerland: She will attend the signing of two protocols between Turkey and Armenia that pave the way toward normalization of their relations.

London: Clinton will meet with senior British officials to discuss important issues such as Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Dublin, Ireland: She will reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ireland during meetings with senior Irish officials.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: Clinton will emphasize the United States' support for political progress and economic recovery in the area.

Moscow: As part of her efforts to reset relations with Russia, she'll meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss a successor agreement to START, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. They'll also discuss Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, and North Korea.

Kazan, Russia: Clinton will visit Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, to talk with local officials and religious leaders about promoting tolerance and interfaith dialogue. The city has a large Muslim population, and yesterday, in this clumsy exchange, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Kazan "really shows that the Russian Federation is a multiethnic country."

Bon voyage, Secretary Clinton!

Photo: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton had another busy day in New York. Above, she listens attentively during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (in purple tie) at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

A couple of amusing tidbits about Clinton in the news:

•In the just-published book, Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage, author Christopher Andersen claims that Michelle Obama was crucial in Barack Obama's decision not to select Clinton as his running mate during last year's presidential election. Michelle reportedly told Barack, "Do you really want Bill and Hillary just down the hall from you in the White House? … Could you live with that?"

•In the soon-to-be-published book The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch discusses how late Russian President Boris Yeltsin was found drunk and in search of a pizza on Pennsylvania Avenue during a 1995 visit to Washington. Yeltsin's former head of security says the alleged incident is a lie and blamed it on Clinton: "I think this book was written with the participation of Hillary Clinton who never had much sympathy for Yeltsin."

Photo: Olivier Doulier-Pool/Getty Images

•Secretary Clinton was interviewed by David Gregory for the full hour of Meet the Press yesterday, and she did an outstanding job. She answered each question clearly, intelligently, and -- of course -- diplomatically. For example, when asked whether she would be betraying the democracy movement in Iran by engaging and negotiating with the regime it aims to overthrow, Clinton responded:

We have negotiated with many governments who we did not believe represented the will of their people. Look at all the negotiations that went on with the Soviet Union. Look at the breakthrough and subsequent negotiations with communist China. That's what you do in diplomacy. You don't get to choose the people; that's up to the internal dynamics within a society. But clearly, we would hope better for the Iranian people. … Yet, we also know that whoever is in charge in Iran is going to be making decisions that will affect the security of the region and the world."

•Clinton also engaged in a bit of damage control after Vice President Joe Biden's eyebrow-raising comments that Russia was a country with a "withering economy" and was "clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable." Clinton told Gregory, "We view Russia as a great power." She added:

What we're seeing here is the beginning of the resetting of that relationship, which I have been deeply involved in. I will be co-chairing a presidential commission along with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. We'll be following up on what our two presidents said in Moscow. And the Russians know that, you know, we have continuing questions about some of their policies, and they have continuing questions about some of ours."

•Clinton, above, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading the U.S. delegation at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue today and tommorow in Washington. Clinton opened the talks by saying that China and the United States "are laying brick by brick the foundation of a stronger relationship" and that it is time to transition from "a multipolar world to a multipartner world."

•Clinton will be visiting Nigeria Aug. 10 to 12. She'll also be visiting four other African countries -- Kenya (the birthplace of President Obama's father), and tentatively Angola, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Photos, from top to bottom: Meet the Press, Alex Wong/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be heading a commission to facilitate cooperation between their respective countries. (Sounds like Russia is too important of a topic for Clinton to delegate to an envoy.)

Yesterday at the Moscow summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Obama said:

Too often, the United States and Russia only communicate on a narrow range of issues or let old habits within our bureaucracy stand in the way of our progress. … And that's why this commission will include working groups on development and the economy, energy and the environment, nuclear energy and security, arms control and international security, defense, foreign policy and counterterrorism, preventing and handling emergencies, civil society, science and technology, space, health, education and culture."

Clinton couldn't attend the summit due to her fractured elbow, but she will travel to Russia as head of the commission. 

Despite the awkwardness with the reset button blooper earlier this year (seen above on March 6), Lavrov seems to get along well with Clinton. "Lavrov, plainly gets on a good deal better with Hillary Clinton than he did with Condoleezza Rice," writes a commentator in The Independent in Britain.

Hopefully they'll get along well enough to make progress on the multitude of issues Obama listed.

Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images