U.S. President Barack Obama inadvertently misspoke Vladimir Putin’s title during his first meeting with the prime minister Tuesday, a second slip of the tongue in as many days that indicates he remains uncomfortable with who is who in the ruling tandem of Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev.

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Obama Puts Medvedev Ahead of Putin

By Anne Applebaum
Thursday, July 9, 2009

Forget the nuke deal, forget the speech, forget even the Russians' lack of interest in Michelle: The real surprise of President Obama's trip to Moscow this week was that he spent most of his time talking to the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and took only a couple of hours to pay a courtesy call on the Russian prime minister and former president, Vladimir Putin.

Almost anywhere else in the world, this sort of thing would be a matter of protocol. Generally speaking, the American head of state spends most of his time with other heads of state when traveling abroad. Exceptions are made for those countries whose heads of state are monarchs or some other figurehead, in which case our president pays a courtesy call and then hangs around with the chancellor or prime minister. If Obama were following that pattern in Russia, he would have spent most of his time with Putin.

Yes, Medvedev is the president and, yes, the Russian constitution gives the president the lion's share of power. But ever since his profoundly undemocratic election last year (following his selection by Putin and an orchestrated parody of a campaign), it has been abundantly clear that the Russian president is not in charge. After the invasion of Georgia last August, it was Putin, not Medvedev, who appeared on television and negotiated behind the scenes. And during the Ukrainian gas crisis this winter it was Putin, not Medvedev, who spoke for Russia. Those who have watched the two men together generally come away impressed by Medvedev's exceptional deference to the prime minister. Someone who took part in a meeting with them some months ago told me afterward that Putin did all the talking while Medvedev took notes.

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PITTSBURGH: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday he might not object to swapping jobs with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as the duo kept Russia guessing about their plans.

Asked during a meeting with American students at the University of Pittsburgh whether he was prepared to exchange places with his powerful mentor Mr Putin, Mr Medvedev said he wouldn't mind. "If it is useful for the country, I am ready to work in any position," he said. "The job of a president is a rather difficult thing. I can also tell you that the job of a prime minister is also a difficult thing. So there's not much difference in this sense."

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