... will survive or experience a crash and depletion of confidence worse than 2009. Western voices say that “Russia has brought NATO together”. Well—after the current Western songs and hymns are replaced with realism or despair (or a new US President ... ... doubt, that Beijing has been deeply involved and consulted in Moscow’s planning of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. This level of coordination gives Kremlin the justified confidence that “the World is big” and no sanctions can tip Russia. We already see the contours of the West deeply humiliated and Russia succeeding with it objectives in ...
... to regard Russia as an enemy for decades to come.
Implication 7.
The actions against Ukraine have revealed a division within Russia itself. The population is split into... ..., it has been unprotected social groups and the middle class who have suffered from sanctions—rather than the “oligarchs” or the “authorities.”
Andrey Kortunov:... ... supplemented with another two.
Afterthought 1.
Moving towards a significant increase in NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe. With a number of Western states blocking...
... programs of import substitution, accumulating foreign exchange reserves, expanding trade with China and deepening political and military-technical cooperation with its partners across the CSTO. The West has established various formats and mechanisms of sanctions pressure, boosting NATO’s eastern flank and increasing policy coordination both within the Alliance and within the European Union as well as military-technical assistance to Ukraine, while consistently attacking Russia in a variety of international settings ranging from the UN General Assembly to OSCE and the Council of Europe ministerials.
Was another collision—of a larger scale—inevitable? During the eight years of ...
... against Russia a major manifestation of the EU’s integrity, it is hard to deny that sanctions cannot be a substitute for a strategy, as it has never followed the declaratory... ... rapprochement with Moscow, and EU policy will devolve into its lowest common denominator from among the positions of its members every single time. Furthermore, since... ... there needs to be a new consorted effort on reaching a sustainable peace in Eastern Ukraine. Political developments in Ukraine might present new opportunities — if not...
... mutual benefits, and the personal relationship between leaders. Russia’s leaders did not understand that Merkel’s support for sanctions and clear defence of the sovereignty of Ukraine not only reflected her personal views but also that German decision makers have a completely different understanding than ... ... field that can be dangerous for the security in Europe. Here it needs more German and other European member states leadership in NATO to minimize these risks.
What are the preconditions for a new relationship?
As long as Russia’s leadership has no interest ...
Russia Direct sat down with Carnegie Moscow Center Director Dmitri Trenin to discuss the new wave of the sanctions war between Russia and the West, the recent NATO summit in Wales, common external threats for Russia and the West such as Islamic State, and the odds of success for the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire agreement.
Although Russia and Ukraine seem to have begun taking steps to resolve the Ukraine crisis on a diplomatic level, a new wave of sanctions imposed on Russia’s energy companies and major banks may become another serious ...
...
CHILCOTE: A lot of Russian politicians have said they believe that the United States' real aim is not to change Russia's position in Ukraine but to overthrow President Putin. Is that your view?
LAVROV: I think the real aim of the United States is not let Europeans to go on their own and to decide on their own. Not let NATO to lose the purpose of its existence and to keep Europe on a short leash.
CHILCOTE: Returning to sanctions and one event that took place in the last week, the French government has decided to go ahead with the sale of those ...
