Moscow’s New Rules

... focuses on protecting those. Commitments are not open-ended and are always reciprocal: As Moscow has demonstrated in the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia will do what it is formally obligated to do, but no more. Russia sent similar messages during the acute phase of the Belarus crisis. It will also insist on its allies being more loyal in order to deserve Moscow’s support. If an ally engages ... ... West, Russia has used unresolved conflicts in Donbas, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia to stop Ukraine and Georgia from securing NATO membership; with regard to China, it has managed to divide up economic/security responsibilities in Central Asia; with regard ...