Carnegie Moscow Center
For Vladimir Putin, seeing Ukraine moving away from Russia and leaning toward the EU is unnatural, even perverse.
Dmitri Trenin participated in a live Twitter Q&A on the situation in Syria, the G20 summit, and the U.S.-Russia relations.
During the G20 summit, the world leaders need to tackle serious economic challenges. At the same time, the abrupt halt to a scheduled U.S.-Russia summit and a potential intervention in Syria have pushed security issues to the top of the summit’s agenda.
Misunderstandings surrounding the Meseberg Memorandum on Transdniestria and EU-Russian security cooperation testify to the difficulties of Russian-Western communication.
After abandoning the Soviet Union, Russia prolonged and reproduced the same basic system, but without communism. In comparison, Ukraine is on the positive side of the process of taking shape as a state and a nation.
Russia and the European Union are competing intensely for influence in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and other countries.
The Kremlin appears to have found its distinct international role. It is based on conservative nationalism; support for traditional international law with its emphasis on national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs of states; and a strong preference for evolutionary path of development over revolutionary upheavals.
While the world waits for a Fourth Wave of Democracy, it is witnessing a diametrically different phenomenon: a surge of new authoritarianism.
Shifts in Russia’s foreign policy following Putin’s return to power result from significant changes in the country’s domestic situation and a shifting global environment.
In order to develop an effective strategic approach toward Russia, Europeans must deepen their understanding of the changing Russian realities.