Упрощенная HTML-версия
Author : A. Orlov
Director, Institute for International Studies, Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
TODAY, we are watching how the present stage of
world history is coming to an end amid great or even
fundamental changes of the geopolitical picture of the
world.
The twenty-five-year-long partnership between Russia
and the West has ended. It will be probably replaced with
a new structure of international cooperation much more
pragmatic and devoid of illusions and exaggerated ex-
pectations nurtured by Russia rather than the West. It is
wrong to expect that when the situation in Ukraine has been stabilized the world will go back to
its pre-crisis state. There is no way back. The old bridges were burned while new bridges have
not yet been built. The paradigm of world development geared at the prospects of long-term
was destroyed.
How did this happen? Moscow and the Western capitals are ready with diametrically opposite
answers.
The Western mega-players which insisted on pushing the areas of military-political and economic
influence of NATO and the EU to Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe to the detriment
of Russia's security interests increased the potential risks of unwelcome developments of any
conflict in Europe and, finally, arrived at the avalanche of an uncontrolled Ukrainian crisis.
Russia and the West have found themselves at the crossroads: they have to choose the road at
which they would be able to get out, without great losses, from the very difficult, not to say dan-
gerous, situation into which they, and the rest of the world, have been plunged.
Headed by the United States the West has gone too far with the policy of anti-Russia sanctions.
One cannot but wonder whether people in Washington and the other Western capitals believed
that sanctions would force Russia to obey their commands. This is naive, or even absurd. It
seems that the West has already recognized this yet still pretends that everything goes according
to its plans.
The sanctions are not limited to economy - they are related to five top leaders of Russia. Ab-
solutely useless from the point of view of their impact on individuals, these sanctions can be
described as an insult to the Russian state and the Russian people. Their effect will be very op-
posite to the expected yet the aftertaste of the rotten political product will linger for a long time.
The Ukrainian crisis proved to be a severe test for Russia which, very much as usual, has positive
sides as well. We now know our friends and our opponents. It's worth a lot.
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Международная жизнь
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A New Paradigm of International Relations