This is rich...

...coming from a Russian:

On Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev criticized the U.S. over its continued support of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the former Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia, saying the alliance "is not ready" to absorb them. Mr. Biden visited both states during his trip through the region last week, and reaffirmed U.S. support for both to join the alliance.

"We don't think it's right to drag certain countries into military and political alliances against the will of their people," Mr. Medvedev said on Russia's NTV television.

I guess it's a good thing all the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Lithuanians, etc. were already pro-Russia commies when you guys got there!

But more on point:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama administration considered Russia a "great power" and wanted it to be a strong and prosperous country, in an apparent effort to reassure Moscow that the White House remains committed to efforts to "reset" bilateral relations.

Mrs. Clinton made the remarks in response to a question about Vice President Joe Biden's suggestion, during a Wall Street Journal interview published on Saturday, that Russia's weakening economy was likely to make it more amenable to cooperate with the West on national security issues.

"We view Russia as a great power," Mrs. Clinton said on NBC News's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "Every country faces challenges. We have our challenges, Russia has their challenges. There are certain issues that Russia has to deal with on its own."

She said the Obama administration didn't believe it has an upper hand in its ties with Moscow, and noted that Mr. Biden had been the first senior administration member to publicly call for a "reset" in the two countries' relationship, in an address in Munich, Germany, in February.

Mr. Biden's comments to the Journal raised concerns in Moscow, which questioned whether he was speaking for the U.S. government. "The question is: Who is shaping the U.S. foreign policy -- the president or the respectable members of his team?" asked Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko. He said it was "perplexing" that Mr. Biden delivered the comments just as the U.S. was talking about a reset in relations.

It's tough to fault the Russians here if they're confused, because I'm not sure anyone in this country knows our priorities when it comes to continued NATO enlargement, nuclear arms reduction, and other issues associated with "reset" with Russia.