* * *

Joseph Biden

On whether Russia will agree not to treat former Soviet republics as its "sphere of influence":

"I don't expect the Russians to embrace -- particularly this government, particularly Putin -- to embrace the notion that [they should] reject a sphere of influence. But I do expect them to understand we don't accept a sphere of influence."

* * *

On fears that U.S. outreach could lead to agreements with Russia that come at the expense of Ukraine and Georgia:

"They think we'll be duplicitous and say, 'Yeah, OK, we got it. We'll make a deal with you on something else we need in return for saying, yeah OK, go ahead.' ... Some argued the last administration made a deal on Chechnya in return for no response on Iraq. We're not going to do that. It's not necessary to do that."

* * *

On domestic difficulties that are affecting Russian foreign policy:

"The reality is the Russians are where they are. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable."

* * *

On why Russian self-interest is increasingly aligned with American interests overseas:

"I always assume that sooner or later people, countries are going to figure out their self-interest. There's a whole lot between Moscow and Washington that the Russians need. It won't work if we go in and say, 'Hey, you need us, man; belly up to the bar and pay your dues.' It's not that. It's just that they're either going to make a deal with us on arms because it's in their interest or not."

* * *

On how Russian economic struggles have affected military spending, particularly on nuclear arms:

"They're sitting there looking at their economy, they're looking at our economy, and guess what? It's in their overwhelming military interest to reduce the number of nuclear weapons. All of a sudden, did they have an epiphany and say, 'Hey man, we don't want to threaten our neighbors?' No. They can't sustain it. Does that mean they won't do something stupid? No."

* * *

On how Russia's past efforts to cut off a gas pipeline through Ukraine prompted Europeans to agree on a new pipeline that bypasses Russia:

"Their actions relative to essentially blackmailing a country and a continent on natural gas, what did it produce? You've now got an agreement that no one thought they could have. Now, granted, that pipeline would only provide 5% of all the oil Europe needs."

* * *

On whether Russian leaders will accept the White House's outreach efforts:

"These guys aren't absolute average-intellect ideologues who are clinging to something nobody believes in. They're pretty pragmatic in the end."

* * *

On the need for the U.S. not to overplay its hand with Moscow:

"It is never smart to embarrass an individual or a country when they're dealing with significant loss of face. My dad used to put it another way: Never put another man in a corner where the only way out is over you. It just is not smart."

* * *

On Russia's post-Cold War position in the world:

"It's a very difficult thing to deal with, loss of empire. The empire was not justified, but still, you're sitting there and all of a sudden...this country Russia is in a very different circumstance than it has been any time in the last 40 years, or longer."

* * *

On whether Moscow will assist the U.S. in clamping down on nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea:

"I can see Putin sitting in Moscow saying, 'Jesus Christ, Iran gets the nuclear weapon, who goes first?' Moscow, not Washington."

* * *

On whether he is concerned about Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili living up to promises to strengthen democratic institutions:

"I'm not concerned, but I'm not taking any chances. The opposition believes the only reason he said it was because I was coming. The opposition said to me the only reason he did some of the stuff he did in terms of backing off the demonstrations was because I told him….It may or may not have had an effect on his judgment."

* * *

On the difficulty of developing democratic institutions in Georgia and other new democracies:

"Part of the process that I think a lot of us forget is that none of these folks ever operated in a system where the basic politics of democracy has been exercised. I mean the raw politics -- not just politics in institutions, but politics in -- you do that, you're likely to get this response."

* * *

On criticisms that President Saakashvili has illustrated authoritarian impulses:

"He has the impulses of what was the Rose Revolution. It was:,'We're in the street, you get you're a** out of office, or we're going to do something.' That was a democratic moment, [but] it wasn't a democratic moment. It was a cry for freedom, and it was a demonstration of a total rejection of the other government. It's a leap from there to say, 'Here's how democratic institutions work'."

* * *

On whether democracy can take hold in Georgia:

"Am I worried about these guys not establishing a democracy? What worries me most is they don't understand how to establish democracy."

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