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Clinton to Lavrov: 'overcharge' rather than 'reset' button to thaw relations
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Of course, one of the best ways to thaw any audience is to begin a speech with humor. Hillary Clinton had this in mind when she met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a closed door meeting in Geneva. She presented Lavrov with a wrapped gift box which contained the much discussed rhetorical 'reset button' to which Vice President Biden alluded during his speech in Munich last month.
The gifting of the box was not part of the closed door session. As she gave him the gift, Clinton reiterated that it represented the change that she, President Obama and VP Biden have been wishing of their relationship with Russia.
The US/Russia relationship is indeed very much in need of a de-icing, and hit an all-time low last summer over the Russia/Georgia skirmish.
Unfortunately, for all the good intention this gift was supposed to symbolize, we apparently could have used Condoleeza Rice for the correct Russian word. The word 'reset' was apparently translated incorrectly, which resulted in the word 'overcharge'. At least, this error brought mutual laughter between Clinton and Lavrov, and Clinton's staff will be correcting the error so that Lavrov can go back to Russia with the right message.
Photo: An assistant shows the mock 'reset' button that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handed over to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, March 6, 2009. Clinton handed Lavrov the block with a red button marked "reset" in English and "overload" in Russian, a reference to a speech by new US Vice-President Joe Biden in January signaling that the Obama administration wanted vastly improved ties with Russia. (AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool)
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