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Электронное приложение к журналу «
Международная жизнь
»
Author : Gilles Rémy
President, CIFAL Group
The Ukrainian crisis brought to the fore what had been going on
during the last two decades: numerous political advantages lost
amid diplomatic misunderstandings and economic blunders. The
West, Europe in particular, is responsible to a great extent for the
entanglements: when dealing with Russia Brussels deliberately ig-
nored Russian culture and development dynamics; it proceeded
solely from its own ideas about politics and the future order. The
Russians, meanwhile, prefer a different development model while
Putin is convinced that we are watching the decline of Europe and
erosion of European values.
OUR SQUABBLES with Putin are eclipsed by the split between
Europeans and Russians, whom I consider Europeans. A technocratic structure, which knew
next to nothing about Russia, conducted the dialogue in technocratic manner. The visa-free
regime talks have been going on indefinitely despite the ambitious tasks and huge civilizational
challenges we are facing together with Russia. This cannot be tolerated any longer!
The West has not yet realized that Putin is no longer a KGB officer - he is building History. He
tried and failed to fit Russia's history into the European trajectory Brussels style: to him a struc-
ture of twenty-eight members and the system of Euro-pean governance does not look functional.
He treats Russia's national interests as supreme value.
Contrary to what people think the crisis is not a Cold War sequel. The Cold War was a clash of
two claimants to worldwide ideological domination. Russia's current ambitions are quite differ-
ent.
WE SHOWED that we had not understood Russians and their deeply rooted motivations. The
Ukrainian crisis is a quintessence of our callousness and the hurt feelings of Russians.
The present political crisis between Ukraine and Russia is a result of twenty years of Europe's
diplomatic blunders, vagueness and political blindness. We should have established closer ties
with Russia yet the last two decades saw no large-scale economic projects with it!
IT SEEMS that Germany and France have already realized than sanctions will not force Russia
to retreat. Politically, the principle "who is stronger" does not work - it merely intensifies Russian
patriotism and consolidates the nation around the people in power who are increasing their pres-
sure. Today, Putin's rating has reached its highest (over 80%). Europe has created an external
threat of sorts; Russians responded with stronger patriotic feelings and rallied around their pres-
ident. This is an immediate effect; I do hope that we will trim long-term negative repercussions.
THE ABOVE MEANS that we should look for and find a political solution to the crisis and
that this should be entrusted to individual states. If French and German diplomacy shoulder
the task we will limit the negative economic effects of the crisis. If split, Europe risks to be
pushed to a much weaker position in the world, in which the center of gravity is gradually shifting
to the Pacific. The traces of these negative developments will survive for a long time in History.
France Will Probably Pay More Than Others for the Crisis