In Search of ‘Business Not As Usual’ With Russia
This article was originally published by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
The author writes that Europe "should stop fearing the return of ‘business as usual'" with Russia. The rhetoric used by the EU in relation to Russia is out of date. European leaders acknowledging that "the European world-view is losing out in the world market of ideas" and "that the West had made some mistakes" would help Moscow "take Europeans a lot more seriously than eloquent moralizing that lacks policy to back it up.” This does not mean "accepting Russia’s domestic arrangements as being as good as those of the EU ... the EU is perfectly capable of distinguishing and showing … the difference between those it considers its own and those it does not.”
Fear that dialogue legitimizes Russia "is rooted in the humiliating trauma of the Russo-Georgian war, when Europe indeed failed to react." But now conditions are different, and Europe has "reacted to events in Ukraine" by placing sanctions on Russia and reinforcing allies. Contrary to the prevailing attitude in the EU, "contacts with Moscow would not show weakness and surrender.” The author concludes that Europe "cannot return to the old model of the relationship … The way ahead is long and vague … But, in the end, it may result in a more sober, clear and functional relationship between the EU and Russia.”
Read the full article at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Kadri Liik
Kadri Liik is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
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