Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who touts her state's proximity to Russia as part of her foreign policy experience, has not met with Russian leaders or delegations, negotiated any Russian issues or visited the country, according to an Associated Press review of records from the governor's office.
The review showed that the Republican vice presidential candidate has negotiated with only one country, Canada, and until last week had met with the leader of only one other, tiny Iceland. Her portfolio expanded last week when she went to New York and met seven foreign leaders attending the UN General Assembly.
Governors who run for national office often are criticized for lacking the international experience that, for example, someone from Congress or the president's Cabinet might have. But Palin's foreign policy adviser Steve Biegun, on leave as vice president of international governmental affairs for Ford Motor Co., said that's not a handicap.
"And what Governor Palin has is a full breadth of international experience that any governor would have who is engaged with the world on trade, on infrastructure issues," he said. "Governors don't have the same opportunities or the same responsibilities that senators have. They're different, but they're not inferior."
Palin herself has said repeatedly that her job is inherently international because of Alaska's location, across the Bering Strait from Russia.
In an interview last week with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, Palin suggested that her contact was more than just awareness of Russia's nearness. When Couric asked Palin if she'd "ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians," the governor replied, "We have trade missions back and forth."
But Steve Smirnoff, the Russian Federation's honorary consul in Anchorage, said Palin never accepted his invitation to open a dialogue with Alaska's neighbor.
When Palin took office in December 2006, Smirnoff says, he sent her a letter suggesting "she could be instrumental in reviving relationships between Alaska and Russia, and the rest of the world."
Smirnoff said he'd met Palin years before, when they both worked on then-Gov. Frank Murkowski's campaign. Smirnoff had hoped for some rapport, but "I never received a response," he said. "I don't know if it was taken to heart or thrown in the trash basket."
Patricia Eckert, who works in the governor's Office of International Trade, confirmed that Palin had not held meetings with Russian officials during her term. The closest interaction she cited was when the Seattle-based Russian consul general attended a reception for the diplomatic corps that Palin hosted in Fairbanks.
According to the Alaska Office of International Trade, during her 21 months as governor Palin has:
- Attended 11 meetings with Canadians, almost all to discuss a proposed oil and gas pipeline that would take Alaska oil through the prairie province of Alberta to Chicago.
- Held diplomatic courtesy calls with American-based representatives of five other countries: Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Israel.
- Spoken at or attended four events that included foreign representatives: the International Whaling Commission, the Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians and, on two occasions, the annual Alaska Fur & Ice event.
- Met last October with the president of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. He told the AP they discussed how Iceland's geothermal generation system, which heats and powers his nation, could be applied in Alaska, especially using existing geothermal resources in the Mount Spurr area near Anchorage.
One of Palin's Canadian counterparts, Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie, said she came to the table well informed for the talks on oil and natural gas issues.
"She obviously had done her homework before we met," he said. "I found Gov. Palin has some of the fundamental principles required for good foreign policy, and that is dedicated approach and a firm commitment to collaborating with other jurisdictions, in this case Yukon."
Officials at the British Embassy, when asked to confirm Palin office records that showed she had met with their ambassador, contacted the McCain-Palin campaign to inform it that the meeting had never occurred. The campaign then contacted the AP to correct the governor's records.
Last week at the UN, Palin met briefly with seven foreign leaders. They included Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
