#8
Trud
October 27, 2001
PARTNERSHIP OR RENUNCIATION?
Russia risks assuming the whole burden of the operation in Afghanistan
Author: Vyacheslav Nikonov, President of the Politika Foundation
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
SINCE RUSSIA CAN PLAY AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMIC EXTREMISM, IT SHOULD CLARIFY A FEW THINGS BEFORE GETTING INVOLVED IN A DANGEROUS WAR ON THE SIDE OF THE WEST. AMERICA AND THE WEST OBVIOUSLY INTEND TO SHIFT THE BURDEN OF THE ANTI- TERRORISM OPERATION ONTO RUSSIA.
In light of the extremely important role that Russia might play in the fight against Islamic extremism it should clarify a few things before getting involved in a dangerous war on the side of the West. First, NATO should decide what is more important for it: strategic alliance with the Russian Federation or expansion to the east and inclusion of the Baltic States.
Will Western politicians keep differentiating between "bad" terrorists, i.e. those whom they are fighting, and "good" ones, i.e. those whom Russia is fighting? What is in store for the ABM treaty of 1972? Will the West view Russia's interests in the CIS and its influence over CIS countries only as negative phenomena? Will the conditions of Russia's access to world markets be improved? Will the West's policy regarding Russia's foreign debts alter?
NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson has given the fullest answer to these questions in his article published by "Nezavisimaya Gazeta." Even the fact that the head of NATO published his article in a newspaper controlled by Boris Berezovsky, an open opponent of Vladimir Putin, says a great deal.
The content of the article is also significant. After the official announcements that it is necessary for Russia and NATO to intensify their partnership, Lord Robertson turns to the essence of his argument. He makes it clear in the article that the events of the past several weeks have not affected NATO's plans for expansion to the east. Moreover, these events only precipitated implementation of these plans.
Robertson also expressed his deep concern about some aspects of Russia's approach to the crisis in Chechnya. Frankly, as for civilian casualties, violation of human rights, and humanitarian crises, these things are to be observed in Afghanistan now - but not in Chechnya, where there has not been any large-scale fighting for a rather long time. However, if any Russian leader drew the attention of the international community to this fact, they would be declared a protector of terrorists.
The question about the ABM treaty of 1972 was answered by George W. Bush at the recent APEC forum in Shanghai. He called this treaty not only obsolete, but also dangerous for the US and international stability in general. Personally, I do not think that the ABM treaty is a sacred cow; but I believe Bush should have been more diplomatic in order not to complicate the situation for Putin, who is trying to maintain a policy of cooperation with the US.
As for the CIS, Western leaders are not unanimous about this issue. Nobody is outraged at the presence of the Russian 201st division and Russian border guards in Tajikistan. However, comments by Western media and politicians on the recent events in Abkhazia are of an obviously pro-Georgian nature. The most encouraging signals are to be observed in the economic sphere. Participants of multilateral summits and numerous visitors of Moscow are expressing their support for Russia joining the World Trade Organization soon.
Thus, most of the answers to the aforementioned questions are negative for Russia. Does it mean that Russia should give up its policy of development of cooperation with the West? I think it does not. Russia's interests coincide with those of the US in principle, so far. However, it is also evident that the US and the West in general have not given Russia any reasons for being altruistic and extending the scale of its participation in the anti-terrorist operation. Russia may complicate things for itself seriously if it quarrels with all Muslims living in Russia and around the world, gets a lot of refugees, and has its southern borders destabilized. But the West will not even thank Russia for this renunciation.
(Translated by Kirill Frolov)
