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Thursday, August 27, 2009

An Italian Look at the Reset Button


With Obama and Merkel playing incubus and succubus to Medvedev and Putin, what does the future hold for Ukraine?

Kligg Magazine weighs in.



Sources:
http://www.kliggmagazine.com/?p=488

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Well Russia in the Eu would be interesting. Our former PM was a great Russia ally.

asehpe said...

That sounds very 19th-centurish. Do you think it could really happen?

I admit it's difficult to think about Ukrainian unity with such complex differences of opinion. But then again... Ukrainians and Russians in Ukraine seem to be so interlinked in various ways. I don't think it often leads to family feuds or family break-ups, does it? (My mother-in-law in Kyiv, a staunch pro-Putin Russian, is best friends with an equality staunch Ukrainian nationalist who says Putin is a criminal; still they clearly love each other and help each other all the time...).

Lingüista said...

By the way, speaking Russia-Ukraine relations, have you seen this article from Paul Goble's "Window on Eurasia" about Ukraine wanting to give more support to Ukrainians living in the Russian Federation?

Taras said...

Ropi,

A large part of Russia belongs in Europe geographically.

A civilized, democratic, prosperous Russia would be an asset to the EU, and so would Ukraine. This all-inclusive balance-of-power arrangement would be good for the continent.

Yet, as of today, Russia shows no intention of joining the EU and shows every intention of dominating its non-NATO neighbors.


Asehpe,

To me, the map looks a bit far-fetched, at least as far as Kyiv is concerned.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility. That's why I believe Ukraine should have a survivable nuclear capability to deter a superior conventional attack. In other words, to keep its borders secure, Ukraine can and should renuclearize. And Washington can keep the reset button.

Otherwise, neither the West nor the East will ever respect us. Neither the West nor the East will ever protect us. With the West's nodding approval, it would be easy for the East to assume that Ukraine is too divided and oppressed to resist a friendly Anschluss. Hitler had made the same assumption with regard to the Soviet Union.

As we all know, this assumption cost millions of lives.


Lingüista,

Thank you for the link!

Ethnic Ukrainians living in Russia should have the same rights as ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

For decades, Russia exploited the melting pot of Russification, resettling millions of people and thereby converting millions of non-Russians into Russians/Homini Sovietici. The Kremlin promoted and preserved the identity of Russians while stigmatizing and marginalizing the identity of non-Russians.

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has relied on these Russified/Sovietized people to support a de facto multicountryism policy in Ukraine. This legacy of assimilation/dissimilation creates a ball and chain of foreign and domestic problems in Ukraine.

Therefore, symmetrically speaking, it's in Ukraine's best interest to forge stronger ties with the Ukrainian diaspora in Russia.

Marta Salazar said...

Але Тарас, це жахливо! аберація!

Звідки ви взяли ці ідеї! які шалені італійські підняли?

Taras said...

Так, люба Марта, це жахливо, але погляд італійців заслуговує на увагу.

На жаль, Ангела Меркель стала послідовницею Герхарда Шрьодера у заграваннях з Кремлем по осі Париж-Берлін-Москва.

Така Ostpolitik спрямована проти України і сприяє агресії з боку Росії.

Marta Salazar said...

Шановний Тарасе, я б не став приділяти велике значення для цих спекуляцій.

Що виникає смішний. Жоден здоровий мозок, міг повірити, що щось на зразок.

Я думаю, що це робота розуму гарячих італійських теоретиків змову і екстремальних гуртів.

Багато привет из Германии!