Britannia Radio

Thursday, September 25, 2008  Updated at 25 September 2008 1:16 Moscow Time.

The Moscow Times » Issue 3996 » News

Paul Martinka / Reuters Palin being briefed by Kissinger at his office in New York on Wednesday. Palin Gets A Lesson On Russia 25 September 2008NEW YORK — Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has briefed Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin about foreign policy challenges regarding Moscow, particularly Russia's invasion of Georgia in August. "It was great," Palin told reporters of her hour-long session with Kissinger as she left his Park Avenue office. Palin's foreign policy adviser Stephen Biegun told reporters afterward that Palin had a lot of questions about how to develop a "cooperative relationship" with Russia. Kissinger credited French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who brokered the Russian-Georgian cease-fire, for his strong stance on behalf of the Georgian people during the crisis. He told Palin that he was going to give a speech "and I'm going to give him a lot of credit for what he did in Georgia." "Good, good," Palin replied. "And you'll give me more insight on that, also, huh? Good." Palin's thin foreign policy resume has been the subject of criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans. Until Tuesday, she had never met a foreign leader. She met Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who were in New York for the UN General Assembly. With Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Palin on Wednesday was to meet Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. The meetings come as part of a drive to prepare Palin for a debate with her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, on Oct. 2.