#12
Vremya Novostei
November 13, 2001
RUSSIA CHANGES THE PARADIGM FOR ITS RELATIONS WITH THE
WEST
Will Russia gain anything from cooperation with the United States?
Author: Timofei Bordachev
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
RUSSIA'S POLICY IN THE 21ST CENTURY MAY REST ON TWO PRINCIPLES: REJECTION OF A GLOBAL STAND-OFF WITH THE WEST, AND AN ALLIANCE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES. GRADUAL INTEGRATION INTO THE MILITARY-POLITICAL COMMUNITY OF THE DEVELOPED NATIONS WILL FOLLOW. RUSSIA SHOULD NOT MISS THIS CHANCE.
Will Russia gain anything from its declared policy of cooperation with the United States in the war on terrorism, and rapprochement with the West in general? This is the major question the Russian media is now discussing on the eve of Vladimir Putin's meeting with George W. Bush at the latter's ranch in Texas.
It is clear that the Kremlin needs some decisions on missile defense, amendment of NATO's role and functions, terms for Russia's membership of the World Trade Organization, and writing off at least part of Soviet-era debts - to prove the effectiveness of its foreign policy. Long-term cooperation with the West is, however, much more important than compromises on specific issues. All technical questions will be solved on an entirely different basis within the framework of this cooperation. That is why Putin needs this visit to the United States to fix two major tendencies in official Moscow's foreign policy.
Firstly, Russia is changing the logic itself of its relations with the West. Until now, the Kremlin's proposals on matters of mutual interest indicates its intention to remain at least a competitor of the United States and its allies, if not an opponent. Despite Gorbachev's popularity in the West, this logic of relations with the West was set during his rule precisely. It happened when the unravelling Soviet Union claimed the role of a super-power and a global pole. Economically weak Russia tried to follow this logic under Yeltsin as well. It happened when Russian diplomacy was enthralled by the idea of a multi-polar world and met the West's every move with counter-moves of its own.
According to a leading Russian political scientist, Russia built its relations with the West on an erroneous basis. It mans that every compromise had to be followed by some sort of compensation to expectations of a part of the Moscow establishment. Russia's demands were always speculative and always presented as being in line with "national interests". All this prevented appearance of a positive and constructive agenda, and Moscow's obstinate resistance to initiatives of the West ended in frantic attempts to save face more often than not. (The Russia-NATO Pact is a perfect example. The Kosovo crisis, when this document was utterly forgotten, shows the level of "trust" and "effectiveness" of the mechanisms specified by the Pact.) And public opinion in Russia took all this as proof of the futility of all attempts to accomplish rapprochement with the West.
The Kremlin is not putting forth any harsh demands now. On the contrary, it suggests that the West and Russia should decide together how America's national missile defense and other plans may enhance the national security of the Russian Federation. This approach makes Russia's foreign policy less costly and changes the way it is seen by the West.
Secondly, and no less importantly, Moscow is taking a step toward the West. Movement in any other direction or sphere is impossible without that. Despite the growing importance of the European Union, the United States remains he military-political leader and moral nucleus of the whole Western world. From the military point of view, Europe and America constitute an integral structure and Russia cannot facilitate relations with the European Union if its relations with Washington remain complicated.
It follows that Russia's policy in the 21st century may rest on two principles: rejection of a global stand-off with the West, and an alliance relationship with the United States. Gradual integration into the military-political community of the developed nations will follow. The tragedy in the United States, and the resolute moves of the Russian president, are giving Russia a chance to find its place in the new world order that is taking shape. Russia should not miss that chance.
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