Security with and against Russia
Comments on a current debate
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine, relations between the West and Russia have been in deep crisis. The dual strategy of “as much containment and deterrence as necessary, as much cooperation and dialogue as possible” offers an orientation for future policy towards Russia. NATO and the EU need security with and against Russia. The goal must be to again obligate Russia to comply with a rules-based security policy and conventional and nuclear disarmament. The West should be prepared to conduct a dialogue on a cooperative security policy and conventional and nuclear disarmament in order to generate trust and prevent an uncontrollable escalation dynamic. One key issue remains how security and stability should be organised in the region between the EU and Russia. Providing formal assurance to Moscow that there is no intention of absorbing Ukraine and the other states in the region into the EU or NATO would send a false signal. A normalisation of the relationship with Russia will not be possible without a clear de-escalation of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
(Osteuropa 9-10/2017, pp. 109–115)