Russia and NATO have been enemies for 50 years.
Profile photo: On April 4, 2008, in Bucharest, Romania, Putin, then president of Russia, attended a press conference after the NATO-Russia Council meeting. Putin once again expressed his dissatisfaction with controversial issues such as NATO expansion. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Jinquan photo
Compromise is still the best choice
Russia faced a dilemma in dealing with its relations with NATO. To join NATO, we must make public the military budget, coordinate the armament plan, re-equip according to NATO standards, adapt to the NATO command system and military training, live next to the former little brothers in Eastern Europe and the Baltic "dwarf country", and completely abandon the dream of becoming a powerful country and becoming a pole in the world; Confrontation with NATO risks worsening geopolitical status and economic development environment, and repeating the mistakes of the arms race. Russia chose to be a partner of NATO, but failed to get rid of the dilemma of being squeezed and bullied by its partners.
Putin said that the characteristic of the Russian nation is to be competitive and not to be left behind.
"If partners are unwilling to take joint action, Russia will be forced to act alone to safeguard its national interests"-It can be seen from the new foreign policy concept that Russian diplomacy will tend to be tough.
Profile photo: On April 4, 2008, in Bucharest, Romania, US President Bush (right), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked while attending the NATO-Russia Council meeting, waiting for Putin’s arrival. Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Jinquan photo
The Russian proverb "If iron bars are swept away, there is no way to stop them. If you want to resist them, the iron bars should be thickened" has become the creed of the authorities in handling foreign disputes. Russia does not appease Georgia and Ukraine, two "alternative" countries eager to join NATO, but adds iron bars. I don’t know that this is to drive fish out of the abyss and send new members to NATO.
Sure enough, Georgia is now determined to join NATO. Ukrainian President Yushchenko said that the situation in Georgia shows that only NATO, a collective security mechanism, can help Ukraine resist Russia. The fear of "Big Brother" in other CIS countries is also increasing.
However, the world is not that world, and Russia is not the former Soviet Union. At the beginning, the Soviet Union went shopping with NATO, which led to the collapse of a big country. Now, having abandoned the socialist ideology, the "big socialist family" and the status and strength of a superpower, Russia does not dare and will not confront NATO head-on. Today’s toughness is more offensive and defensive, and it is a Jedi counterattack against the United States and the West.
Although the relationship between Russia and NATO can no longer be summarized as "neither enemy nor friend" nor "fighting without breaking", it will not be a life-and-death struggle, and both sides will lose. There is still room for compromise and cooperation between the two sides, for their own security and economic interests. Russia still has to deal with NATO, an old enemy who has been entangled in love and hate for half a century. (Author: Xinhua News Agency World Research Center Sheng Shiliang Editor: Tao Zhipeng)
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