A new US President, Bill Clinton, did not cling to the remnants of the Cold War, and the personal chemistry between him and Yeltsin made US–Russia relations less hostile. Both leaders sought to establish a strong partnership. Yet, Aleksashenko alleges, Clinton was inexperienced in foreign policy and was unable to find a new George Kennan who could help him to design the Russian policy. Russia’s economic transformation was a new phenomenon, and neither academicians nor the IMF could provide a comprehensive approach. Moreover, the debts must be paid, and Russia’s interest payments exceeded the Western credits. The lack of reform’s positive economic outcome provoked a new political crisis in Russia, which raised uncertainties about the country’s foreign policy.