The U.S. should seriously consider how to build a new  relationship with Russia. After the episode with former National Security  Agency contractor Edward Snowden and the postponement of the bilateral  summit, Washington should take a sober look at the facts. Was  the Snowden episode unique and did it change the overall logic  of recent U.S.-Russian relations? Has the “reset” succeeded  in ridding those relations of Cold War-era stereotypes  and approaches?

The answer to both questions is an unequivocal “No.”

If Washington wants to gain a clear understanding of what is  happening, it needs to set aside the idealism inherent in U.S.  President Barack Obama’s approach to international relations. The time  has come to view Moscow’s behavior in terms of realpolitik. After  all, that is what motivates President Vladimir  Putin in his own approach to international relations.

Putin has already sent several simple and clear messages  to Washington and to Obama personally in recent years. His goal  has been to show the new reality in international  relations — namely, that the world has become multipolar.

The most important message is that Russia will not miss any opportunity  to participate in building the new world order amid  the reduction in U.S. global dominance and the rise  of China. Under such circumstances, Russia has no interest in trying  to “save” the declining West by offering the type  of strategic partnership Dmitry  Medvedev proposed when he was president. Russia will build its own,  independent center of power — a Eurasian Union based on a  strategic partnership with key former Soviet republics.  This perhaps is  Putin’s own “pivot” away from the West and toward the East.

In practice, Putin’s worldview explains why Russia is so uncompromising  on a number of issues of critical importance to the West.  After the events of the Arab Spring and the intervention  in Libya, the Kremlin realized its mistake and will no longer  permit the countries of the West — and in particular  the U.S. — to orchestrate regime change. Putin is convinced that  the actions of the U.S. only destabilize the overall security  situation in the world. Russia’s task is to act as  a counterbalance by denying Washington the type of carte  blanche to pursue all of the initiatives that former U.S. Presidents  Bill Clinton and George W. Bush enjoyed.

At the same time, however, Washington should not conclude that Moscow’s  policy is directed exclusively against the U.S. Putin sees  the emerging reality in international relations as a “new balance  of power.” It is very similar to the world order that existed prior  to World War II.

The second message is that Russia will no longer tolerate Washington’s  policy of promoting “universal human rights.” If Washington wants  a positive dialogue with Moscow, it would do well to exclude  the question of protecting “minority rights.” With the help  of legislation passed by the State Duma, Putin has built  an almost impenetrable wall preventing the West from meddling  on the issue of human rights in Russia. What’s more, Putin is  prepared to shut down or evict any organizations or foundations that  attempt to circumvent that prohibition — even those that have been  operating in Russia for the past 20 years. Putin is confident he can  pursue such initiatives because he believes he has the support of the  majority of Russians, and this emboldens him to go one step  further each time.

Any attempt to influence Russia’s domestic agenda will be nipped  in the bud. An illustrative example is the Magnitsky Act,  a U.S. initiative designed to address corruption in Russia. It  was met swiftly with the “Dima Yakovleva law” banning U.S. adoptions  of Russian children, an attempt to show that any attack  by the West will be repulsed with double the force.

The third message that Washington needs to accept is that Russia  has warm relations with China. In fact, the very scenario about which  U.S. military planners had warned is now becoming a reality. Moscow  and Beijing are developing and continuously expanding both economic  and military cooperation. The two countries are currently conducting  Peace Mission 2013 in the Southern Urals, the longest-running joint  military exercises in the history of Russian-Chinese  relations.  Only one month earlier, the two countries conducted joint naval exercises  in the Sea of Japan code named Sea Cooperation 2013.  The maneuvers were clearly a response to similar joint military  exercises held by the U.S. and Japan.

Putin does not see any reason why Russia should seek a compromise with  the U.S., all the more since the Kremlin has always equated  compromise with weakness. It would only make sense if it produced some strategic  benefit, but unfortunately, there are no such payoffs that might be  of interest to Putin.

Above all, Putin wants the U.S. to recognize Russia’s “Monroe  Doctrine” with respect to Moscow’s strategic sphere of influence  in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Yet Washington resists this  notion because of its own geopolitical interests in the region.

Washington should abandon its double standards and with respect  to Russia and initiate a new concept for the global balance  of power that takes Russia’s interests into account. Only in that  way can the U.S. engage Putin in joint projects and prevent  a total Russian pivot toward the East.