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From Russia With Dismay

Afilonius Rex, Madrid, 18th January 2025.

Profound antagonism has existed between Russia and Western Europe since the times of the Czars. Leading roles in this perpetual drama have been racism, imperialism, arrogance, ignorance, personal ambitions and paranoia. The biggest problem in the room is that Russia understands the West too well and that the West is deliberately stubborn when it comes to putting itself in the shoes of Russia.

There are elements on all sides who are nostalgic about the Cold War and believe that it should be the natural state of things, not just some terrible and painful relic of how not to live in peace, harmony and cooperation.

There is a lot of chatter in the West about how Russia has stepped back from a rules-based world order, but this is bullshit. The USA and NATO disengaged us from the rules-based order about twenty-five years ago. This is us accusing Russia of what we did. I’m a great fan of realpolitik, but the contemporary denial of reality is a vulgar indictment of our fundamental dishonesty.

So, who is right and who is wrong?

Stupid, laboured and facile questions are not going to solve any significant problem.

Fixing the world is not going to be easy, nor will it ever be complete, but this is where we can start:

  1. A credible and realisable peace is imposed by Russia and Ukraine, as well as by the UN and the UNSC.
  2. The borders of Russia and Ukraine are based on facts on the ground.
  3. Ukraine is allowed to join the EU but not NATO.
  4. Russia and the EU sign a binding rule-based pact of non-aggression.
  5. The EU Defence Committee has a security council with permanent members and a veto.
  6. The EU ceases to be a platform solely for a globalised neoliberal view of the world and Europe.
  7. The EU, USA and Russia committed to the reconstruction of Ukraine, including Russian Ukraine.

These are just ideas. Some of them may not be realistic or practical. For sure, it will require a lot of humanity, solidarity, give and take, and strong political will.

We have removed ourselves from terrible situations in the past, and I believe we can do it again.