Iranian Nuclear Talks- Kasparov Edition

Continuing the discussion about the Iranian nuclear deal, Mondays WSJ had an op-ed written by Garry Kasparov, the chess champion that ran for Russia's presidency, arguing the true intentions of the Russian government compliance in the talks. Mr. Kasparov argues that the Russian governments primary intention is to inflate oil prices, and instability within the Middle East provides such inflation. Applying economic sanctions to Iran provides Russia with the instability, and therefore price increase, it seeks.

The article generally talks about US-Russia relations, especially the differing approaches by each country. While the US has made repeated concessions to Russia, such as the nuclear defense system previously noted in this blog, Russia, according to Mr. Kasparov, only works with Western powers on human rights and democracy when it increases the wealth of the government and oil oligarchs. As such, the US must take a harder line when dealing with Russia.

It must be noted that Mr. Kasparov comes from a decidedly biased point of view. However, any dissenting views coming from Russia are refreshing, as so little dissent exists, or more truly, is allowed.