Interesting article. The writers points seem to be that Russia under Putin is not “playing nicey nice”. It should be obvious to the most casual observer that all countries do what is in their own best interests. It is not in Russia’s interests to accomodate European interests any more than Europe accomodated Russia’s in the recent past. Europe and the United States were very pointedly going about the business of encircling Russia to take control of it and its near abroad to pick it clean of its resources.
Unfortunately for Europe and the US the Russians woke up.
The writers state “the Kremlin has effectively shut the EU out of regions where it has an interest in promoting political reform, resolving conflicts and forging energy partnerships”.
The promotion of political reform means overthrowing those countries that do not agree with Western demands. Resolving conflicts means letting the West go in and resolve conflicts that it starts to serve its own ends. Forging energy partnerships means letting EU and US oil majors take control of these countries natural resources…raping them so to speak. Let’s talk real truth here.
The writers state “Whereas the European project is founded on the rule of law”….boy now there’s a novel concept. Rule of Law, let me repeat that again…RULE OF LAW. Just what law was being followed by Great Britain, Italy, Spain and every other country that joined George Bush’s Coalition of the Willing in invading Iraq based on a bunch of “God Damned Lies”. The invasion of Iraq is a violation of all laws both moral and actual. George Bush is in truth a war criminal for what he has done. After the way the West has behaved in its treatment of raping Third World Countries of their resources the line “Rule of Law” should never be used in describing these countries ever again. Every single European country that has had an empire, Greece, Rome, Spain, Portugal, France and especially England should never lecture any country such as Russia that is now doing what is best for its own interests. And doing what is best with its own resources, no one elses. Russia has every right to tell the European Union “you either buy our gas at what terms we sell it or you freeze your asses off, the choice is yours. We, (Russia) can just as easily ship the oil and gas Eastward toward China, India and Japan”…
The West, meaning Europe and the US (oil majors) no longer control the resources of most energy exporting countries and that’s just unfortunate. Perhaps it’s time to really start looking for alternate energy sources because trying to take other countries property by force just isn’t going to work.