A degree of reconciliation and even the start of cooperation between the USA and the European Union on the one hand and Russia on the other made considerable progress last week, picking up the pace at the weekend. The American and Russian authorities have stepped up their contact in various forms, with face-to-face meetings at several levels on some issues. By referring readers to the following pages for a summary of this contact and the re-established dialogue, I will sum up all of the elements which are behind this latest development and most of which actually existed last week in the eyes of anybody who chose or was able to interpret the attitudes and the words of President Obama.
What the American President said from the off. Even before the weekend, Mr Obama explicitly opened the door to reconciliation with Russia and the re-establishment of dialogue. In particular:
the President already considered the annexation of Crimea to the Russian state a done deal, even though this was the cause of the row. The attitude was more or less the same on the European side of the Atlantic, at least on the part of anybody who understood the situation; the President of the European Parliament, Mr Schulz, for instance, actually said: “the annexation of Crimea is now a reality”, adding: “however, Russia must stop there” ;
in his public speech in Brussels on Wednesday of last week, Mr Obama on several occasions expressed his admiration and sympathy for Russia, calling on his audience not to forget “the unimaginable sacrifices made by the Russians during the Second World War; we have inherited a fight for freedom, our aim is not to bring Russia down, but to mobilise together for the principles which have meant so much to Europe” ;
the American President reaffirmed the same concepts several times. Whilst stressing that Washington and Europe would stand united to bring in additional measures against Russia in the event of any unacceptable attitude on the part of Moscow, Mr Obama made it quite clear that his preference was for diplomacy;
as regards the specific aspect of nuclear weapons, Mr Obama confirmed that the ultimate goal was to build a world with no nuclear weapons, which will obviously require France and the United Kingdom to be on board, but will most of all entail cooperation with Russia.
Other countries and other bodies. As for the rest of the world, all observers registered China's unforthcoming attitude on the matter and took particular note of the fact that the BRICS countries formally refused to take part in any measure against Russia. It may seem almost ridiculous to refer to the BRICS countries, given that Russia is one of them, but it is the official nature of this stance which makes it significant, as they could have simply declined to comment.
Afghanistan as well. Awaiting the move away from nuclear weaponry, other subjects related to cooperation with Russia were raised. Mr Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO, said that his association is still counting on Russian participation in order to complete its definitive withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is scheduled for the end of this year.
Closing comments. It was observed that Crimea is indispensable to Russia, to give the country a port in that area with a depth of 14 m, which is vital for marine warfare. NATO has appointed its future Secretary General as Jens Stoltenberg, who was the Prime Minister of Norway for 10 years; sources in Oslo stress his harmonious relationship with Moscow.
To conclude, cooperation with Russia - which I have been pushing for in this column since the Crimean crisis broke out - is now not just accepted, but the favoured option of Western political leaders, at the very highest levels.
(FR)