... crises and controversies regarding a number of issues hardly set aside the need to build trust on specific issues, without mentoring, arrogance and sarcasm on either side
... ... published an article by my colleague Sabine Fischer: “
From Gas Pipeline to Navalny. What Russia Doesn’t Get About Germany
"
Liana Fix:
The Times for a Special Relationship... ... politics.
Andrey Kortunov:
Why the “Coronavirus Ceasefire” Never Happened
The West has long been trying to decipher the "genome" of the Kremlin's policy...
... operation, for example.
Andrey Kortunov:
Will Donbass Live to See the UN Peacekeepers?
However, trust is a key concern in Moscow.
Would Brussels support Moscow’s initiative? Would this kind of move be sabotaged by Kiev or blocked by Washington? Would the West exploit the Russian attempt at compromise, taking it as a sign of weakness and only increasing its own pressure?
The absence of trust — and the fear of exploitation — could encourage Russia to adopt a hard line, even if it is costly. A lot will depend on Brussels and its ability to show autonomous and mature diplomacy.
This does not mean, of course, that Moscow should try ...