On February 24, George W. Bush will travel to Slovakia for a summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Although President Bush forged a strong personal relationship with Putin during his first term, many critics now charge that Washington faces an increasingly erratic and unstable counterpart in the Kremlin that is pursuing a range of political, economic, and foreign policies at odds with U.S. interests.

Is it time for the Bush administration to rethink its Russia policy? What should be the strategic priorities of the relationship with Moscow over the next four years, and beyond? Can Washington stand up to Putin's rising authoritarianism, while still cooperating with the Kremlin on counterterrorism, nonproliferation, and energy security? 

These and other questions will be the subject of an AEI panel discussion. Participants include Fiona Hill, senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution; Michael McFaul, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution; Eugene B. Rumer, senior fellow at National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies; and Nikolai Zlobin, director of Russian and Asian programs at the Center for Defense Information. Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at AEI, will moderate.

Lunch will be served.