On Russia, the West has the will, but not yet the way

Europe Features

Feb 7, 2009, 18:58 GMT

Munich - Where there's a will, there's a way: the saying is as old as the English language, dating back over 1,000 years. But while European and US leaders on Saturday agreed that the West has the will to work with Russia on some of the world's toughest problems, they are still looking for a way to do it following Russia's 'gas war' with Ukraine and its real war with Georgia. 'We need to find ways to incorporate Russia' into the European dialogue on security issues, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the top-level Munich Security Conference - in a tacit admission that those ways have not yet been found. Twice in the last six months, Europe has gone on red alert due to conflicts between Russia and its neighbours. In August, the European Union spearheaded an emergency diplomatic push as Georgia attacked its separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russia invaded Georgia in response. And in January the EU conducted frantic shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kiev as a row between Russia and Ukraine over natural-gas contracts caused gas shortfalls across much of Eastern Europe. Those conflicts provoked bitter condemnation in the West, with the EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana, telling the conference that the Georgian war was 'a massive breach of the core principle we hold very dear: the non-use of violence.' But over the same period, Western concerns over issues from the financial crisis and climate change to Iran's nuclear programme have led to a chorus of calls for a rapprochement with Moscow - which also has a permanent seat, and with it a veto, on the United Nations Security Council. The United States and Russia 'can still disagree (over issues such as Georgia) and work together where their interests coincide - and they coincide in many places,' US Vice-President Joe Biden said on Saturday in his first major speech in Europe in his current role. Even Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country has emerged as one of Europe's most vocal critics of Russian policy, on Saturday called for dialogue with Moscow. 'If we feel a crisis of confidence toward this great potential partner, we want to learn from them what they plan to do for faith and confidence ... to make it better,' he said. All Saturday's speakers agreed that the West should reach out to Russia to try to solve global problems, with the questions of Iran's nuclear programme, the stabilization of Afghanistan and a global response to the financial crisis all cited repeatedly. But any attempt to do so will have to deal with two major problems which neither European states nor the US have yet managed to solve. First of all, Europe remains deeply divided over the question of whether Russia is a potential partner or a potential threat. 'I don't believe modern Russia constitutes a military threat to the EU and NATO,' Sarkozy said bluntly on Saturday. But it is seen as at least a potential threat in EU and NATO members such as the Baltic states, which have regularly protested against breaches of their airspace by Russian military aircraft, and which viewed the Georgian war with deep alarm. That difference in assessments seriously weakens the ability of either alliance to agree on a new policy towards Russia, since any joint initiative would have to reassure the more sceptical members without being so aggressive as to alienate the less sceptical ones. And even if the Western alliances do agree on a common approach to Russia, they will also have to offer Moscow enough incentives to cooperate without giving away so much that key European states such as Poland and the Baltics rebel. Given the sensitivity in Europe of the question of relations with Russia, that is an extraordinarily fine line to tread. But analysts say that the sheer scale of the global problems - above all, the financial crisis - may yet force a rapprochement. Russia last year 'was awash with cash and felt powerful; today the country is struggling to manage a financial crisis amid rising political tensions,' the Munich conference programme commented. And that being the case, the West's best plan may well be to keep repeating its will to find a compromise - and hope that Russia itself points out the way.

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YHGFeb 7th, 2009 - 20:05:58

Real countries - USA, Russia, France, Germany , Italy - can always reach an agreement, but only if they disregard the whining of geopolitical pigmees like Poland, Scandies, Czechs and Baltics.

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I agree!Feb 7th, 2009 - 22:50:15

Polland and Tjech republic are poor and small countries whose stand has no significance anywhere anytime. Besides, the dummest people are from Polland and the oogliest from Tjech.

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teppoFeb 8th, 2009 - 06:16:14

Me agrees too... Russians should only talk to America anyway. Euros don't have an independent foreign policy. If you want to make slaves do anything, talk to their master.
There are only four serious countries in this world - US, Russia, China and Iran. Everyone else is just someone's vassal, always ready to stab their boss at an opportune moment.

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AlexFeb 9th, 2009 - 01:46:32

I always enjoy reading about the concerns in the West regarding Russian aggressions.

Such a bad aggressive Russia compare to the peace loving West. To the degree of bombing and invading other countries at will. Concerned about sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia? Try to remember Serbia.
How about Iraq - over a million people dead and 4 millions dislocated. A puppet regime as a 'democracy'.

The West is a bunch of cowards and blood-sucking hypocrites.

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GooseFeb 9th, 2009 - 05:40:24

And the Russians are a bunch of sheep led by a dictator who wants to invade all his old territories under sham excuses. You have no free press, no fair election system, your president is your prime minister and your prime minister is a lair and a cheat who orders the deaths of any who oppose him or critic him. Czar Putin has taken to using oil and gas to try and intimidate his neighbours, you have breeding camps called 'youth camps' that are so similar to the old nazi versions its actually funny. You bleat on about the missile shield, but only because the Czar knows that if and when it works you will lose all the value of your crappy military and the Czar knows he cannot afford to keep up...remember what happened last time, fall of regime??? So Alex/Teppo keep digesting the crap that your dictator feeds you and be good little Russian sheep, believe all he says, never question him and he might let you live...

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2 GooseFeb 9th, 2009 - 05:48:56

Goose, you are a typical brainwashed moron who knows nothing about Russia. Or you are lying. Either way, it ain't pretty.

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AlexFeb 9th, 2009 - 18:45:06

Goose is a MORON and a LAIR. No contradictions here.

its my firm believe the US-NATO plans are aggressively anti-Russian and, given a chance, they will try and bomb or intimidate the Russia to submission. They will instigate the dismemberment and colonization of Russia. Its the ages-old goal of the West.

All this NATO expansion and ABM installations are just for one and single purpose. The US is going to sacrifice as many Europeans as needed to prevent them to become close and interdependent to Russia. Otherwise, US and NATO can safely go home for good and say by-by to American 'special' status in Europe and the World.

The fall of empire is never a pretty picture. And US of A is not going to fall gracefully either.

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On Russia, the West has the will, but not yet the way

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