Carnegie Moscow Center
As Ukraine is teetering on the brink of a civil war, the West and Russia have found themselves on the brink of new confrontation. Instead, they should cooperate on Ukraine and push the Ukrainian sides toward stopping violence.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s article on Ukraine demonstrates that the Russian regime is simultaneously making conflicting statements and moving in opposite directions.
Russia’s Eurasian Union project aims at integrating much of ex-Soviet Eurasia into an economic, political, and security unit. Before that can happen, however, Russia needs to better manage what it already has.
To keep Ukraine in one piece, and at peace with itself, the Ukrainians evidently need to reform their political system. The West and Russia should help the Ukrainian parties reach an agreement on the parameters of a federal parliamentary republic.
The 50th Munich Security Conference marked the charting of a course toward Berlin’s more robust engagement in the world, including with military means. At the same time, the conference was overshadowed by the unfolding crisis in Ukraine.
Dealing with Ukraine is a test for Russia, as well as for Europe and the United States. Moscow and the Western capitals need to stay out of Ukraine as much as possible, allowing the Ukrainian people to define the country’s national identity.
The European Union has proven powerless to prevent a tragic spiral of lethal violence in Kyiv. In addition, its image amongst protestors has suffered. Now the key challenge for the EU is to begin shaping the conditions that will facilitate deeper democratic reform in Ukraine.
Ukrainians on the Maidan and in a growing number of cities across the country are standing in opposition to backsliding into autocracy, in defense of fundamental democratic values, and in defiance of a corrupt post-Soviet system.
Ukraine is in for a long ordeal that has just begun. The previously dormant segments of Ukrainian society are getting involved in the protests. Meanwhile, the regime is ready to defend itself by any available means.
Russia is demanding to be treated as an equal partner in its relationship with the EU, but Brussels had long ignored this shift, and EU-Russian relations have stagnated as a result. It is time for a fundamental rethink of the EU’s Russia policy.