The West is developing a strategy for Russia’s continued isolation – WP

Almost two months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the US presidential administration and its European allies have begun to plan a completely different world in which they no longer seek to coexist and cooperate with Russia, but actively seek to isolate and weaken it as a long-term strategy.

According to the Washington Post, Allies in NATO and the European Union, the US State Department, the Pentagon and other allied ministries are developing plans to consolidate Russia’s new policy of isolation in virtually every aspect of the West’s position on Moscow: from defense and financial trade to international diplomacy.

The outrage is primarily directed at Vladimir Putin himself, who, according to US President Joe Biden, “cannot remain in power.”

According to the publication, the Pentagon has changed its strategy of national defense of the United States, which focuses on “the challenges posed by Russia in Europe,” and only then – China. Earlier, the United States saw China as a major strategic threat.

A document of NATO’s strategic concept from 2010, when it sought a “genuine strategic partnership” with Russia, will be presented at the alliance’s summit in June this year.

 – The substantive dialogue we have sought in the past is not an option for Russia, – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference earlier this month.

In turn, the European Union is developing plans to reduce dependence on Russian energy – oil and gas, planning to reduce imports of these resources by two thirds by the end of the year.

Western countries have become more likely to announce a significant increase in the defense budget, designed for the distant future.

Finland and Sweden are expected to apply for NATO membership before the June summit in Madrid, which will be a significant shift in the balance of European security, which will also dramatically increase the alliance’s military presence near Russia.

Last week, the UN General Assembly voted to suspend Russia’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council, and the long-awaited movement to review the membership and powers of the Security Council, where Russia is free to veto, has gained new impetus.

But a long-term strategy is being developed even as Allies tackle the immediate crisis by tightening sanctions against Moscow, helping Ukraine with weapons and deploying tens of thousands of its own troops on NATO’s eastern border.

Many of these and other events are expected to remain on a permanent basis, according to statements by leaders and talks with eight high-ranking US and foreign officials, the newspaper said.

 – Ultimately, we want to see a free and independent Ukraine, a weakened and isolated Russia, and a stronger, more united, more determined West,  – said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser.

Not everyone is in favor of long-term isolation of Moscow. In France, where President Emmanuel Macron is in a surprisingly close race for re-election with the rising candidate Marine Le Pen, she called for reconciliation between NATO and Russia and reaffirmed her promise to withdraw France from the alliance’s integrated command. And in Germany, there are voices in favor of keeping the door open for dialogue with the Kremlin to promote possible rapprochement.

In the United States, the issue is one of the few in which President Biden has strong bipartisan support. Support for a tough line on Russia also seems to have eroded Republicans’ contempt for NATO, unlike former President Donald Trump’s administration, as members of the alliance from Washington to Russia’s western border insist the need and reality of a common position is higher than ever.

A senior European official said that “the only lesson we are learning from Russia’s aggression, which many have considered impossible, is that this is a country that is willing to do something that no security guarantees or even plausible expectations can provide, that this may happen again “.

– We thought that mutual restraint, interconnectedness will promote stability, because we have mutual interests. Now we see that this is not the case. Russia has been strongly connected to Europe, a globalized country … Interdependence, as we have now seen, can pose serious risks if the country is ruthless enough … We must adapt to a completely new situation,  – the official said.

Several European politicians have stated that their current calculations are determined by two main factors.

The first is the expectation that any truce in Ukraine is likely to be temporary. Even if the Russian president agrees to lay down his arms for a while, many Europeans believe he will seek to regroup, restore Russia’s armed forces and attack again as soon as he feels ready.

The second reason is the deep horror of the Russian military’s atrocities against civilians, which became known after their troops withdrew from the Kiev region. Many believe that Vladimir Putin may have to appear before an international tribunal on charges of war crimes.

All this means that many Europeans believe that their continent will be unstable and dangerous as long as Vladimir Putin is in the Kremlin. And if they are not yet ready to make active efforts to overthrow his regime, then there, as in the United States, growing support for the idea of ​​cutting it off from the country forever.