Zhang Hong: Russia has opened a new model of interaction with the West?

Source: Global Times

The crisis of military confrontation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which began in late 2021, continues. On the 26th, the United States said that after consultations with NATO allies and European partners, including Ukraine, it made a written response to Russia's "security requirements" and once again called on the United States and Russia to conduct diplomatic dialogue. At the same time, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman said on the same day that Russia is still prepared to use force against Ukraine before mid-February. Pulling the trigger, he was looking for dialogue. Is this creating a new model of Interaction between Russia and the West?

After the United States and the West continued to squeeze Russia's geostrategic space, Moscow embarked on a more risk-level military confrontation countermeasure model - deploying heavy troops around Ukraine and holding large-scale military exercises. The United States and the West continue to hype Russia as "possible invasion." Why did Moscow choose to deal with the West through this model? There are profound historical and practical considerations.

First, the West's contempt for Russia has made diplomatic communication increasingly difficult. After the end of the Cold War, the United States and the West regarded themselves as the victors of the Cold War, and they were keen to play the role of "teachers" in both economic development and political reform, and "pointed fingers" at other countries' internal affairs. Although the West once accepted Russia into the "Group of Seven", it did not regard it as a true group member. Western countries have always regarded Russia, which has a huge nuclear arsenal, as the main security threat, and has constantly encroached on and encircled Russia's strategic space. On the one hand, the West regards the inclusion of Warsaw Pact members to join NATO and the European Union as a digestion of the legacy of the Cold War, and on the other hand, it regards the absorption of the "post-Soviet region" into the Western political, economic and security system as a consolidation of the gains of the Cold War. Complete disregard for Moscow's concerns about NATO expansion, as well as the special feelings and historical memories of Russian society for the "post-Soviet region."

After entering the 21st century, the West has continued to support the "color revolutions" in Russia's neighboring countries and encouraged these countries to turn to the United States and Europe. Western contempt for Russia eventually led to a decline in trust levels between the two sides, and a fierce geopolitical game broke out between the two sides in Georgia and Ukraine. Moreover, some Western politicians and media often use derogatory words when describing Russia and its leaders, exposing their extreme disrespect, arrogance and even hostility toward Russia. Although the Cold War has ended for many years, in the West, the Cold War mentality still has deep soil.

Second, strategic patience is gradually being worn out, prompting Russia to change its mode of dealing with the West. Russian society has always had good aspirations for the West. After the end of the Cold War, many Russians believed in terms of culture, political system and market model that they deserved to be part of the Western world. However, Russia's practice of "embracing the Western world" in the 20th century was not ideal, and NATO and the European Union enthusiastically accepted the countries of Eastern and Central Europe to join, and even regarded some "post-Soviet countries" as potential accessions and accession targets. Russia, on the other hand, is still the "other" in the eyes of the West, and European countries have likened Russia's accession to the European Union to "an elephant in a bathtub."

Russia has attached great importance to its relations with the United States for some time. For example, after the 9/11 incident, Putin immediately sent a signal of support to the George W. Bush administration and quickly expressed his full support for the United States in fighting terrorism. During the Obama administration, after the Russo-Georgian war, U.S.-Russian leaders continued to struggle to "relaunch" relations; after the 2014 Ukraine crisis, Putin did not give up on improving relations with the United States. Throughout the 30 years since the end of the Cold War, Russia has spent most of its time improving relations with the West as one of the focal points of its diplomacy, and Moscow has maintained great strategic patience.

But the diplomatic containment and suppression of Russia by the United States and the West has exhausted this strategic patience little by little. Since the Biden administration came to power, the United States has reorganized the "united front" of Western countries against Russia and strived to act together diplomatically and militarily in a transatlantic alliance. In 2021, the United States and the European Union together introduced a number of sanctions against Russia and expelled Russian diplomats. These joint actions have left Moscow feeling that there is almost no room for improved relations with the West. Under the clamor of Washington, the "anti-Russian momentum" within the EUROPEAN Union, represented by the United Kingdom and Eastern European countries, gradually overwhelmed Germany and France, which supported dialogue with Russia.

In particular, NATO is not only accelerating its military eastward expansion, but its actions are becoming increasingly adventurous and provocative. In recent years, NATO has held larger and larger military exercises in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea; NATO has also set up rapid reaction units in the Baltic States and new military bases and anti-missile system bases in Romania and Poland; the level of military cooperation with Ukraine has been continuously improved, and the scale of military aid has risen rapidly. In June 2020, NATO granted Ukraine the status of "Enhanced Capability Partner", which means that Ukraine has become an "associate member" of NATO, receiving all "member resources" except for the group's security protection provisions. Moreover, NATO provides it with comprehensive intelligence, training, logistics and command support, and Ukraine may also provide NATO with military bases.

Third, it is inevitable that Russia will open a new model of interaction with the West. Re-reading Putin's State of the Union address delivered last April helps us understand today's tense interaction between Russia and NATO. Putin said that Russia has shown caution and low-key, gentle and elegant, that Russia wants to maintain good relations with all its international partners, and that "we really do not want to burn the bridge (connecting the two sides);some countries should not take Russia's humility as weakness, and if anyone dares to cross Russia's "red line" and burn or even blow up the bridge, russia's response will be "unequal, rapid and tough."

The 44-year history of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union proves that absolute security cannot be achieved by relying solely on the expansion of armaments, and unilateral security is equal to insecurity. Cold War mentality and zero-sum games can only create greater risks. The recent security crisis in Ukraine's periphery is not simply a question of whether NATO will expand, but a crisis of international security mechanisms triggered by the United States and the West, and even a crisis of global governance. (The author is a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)