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Originally Posted by twicesh
I don't intend to protect Putin, but he said about open both economic market simultaneously.
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If he is really serious about this, I think a deal could be reachable. But his words have to be followed by actions. If he comes forward with a basis for simultaneously opening of markets the EU for sure have an open ear for it. I mean it isn't like there can not exist cooperation between us two. Look for the Sojus rockets for example. The Europeans needed a middle size rocket with the option for human space flight, and the Russians wanted to get the chance to launch them from the European spaceport. Cooperation is possible if there is a will on bot sides.
In fact its not that long ago that Russia was not so hostile against Europe and the west in general. If I remember it all started with the critique from our side on the Yukos case. Not that the claims were wrong, (I guess so, I had no insight in it) but they were for sure extremely selectively applied. I mean you have dozens of oligarchs from Jelzins time, I am sure you could everyone of them destroy in legal cases as the CEO of Yukos. But they dont engage in an opposition movement and that makes the difference.
Well anyway I am sure the criticism was not welcomed with applause in Russia...
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It was the greatest error of the West, that they protect Baltic countries in such a way. These processes began in the ninetieths years when the Russia was democratic country and there weren't any blackmail and pressure. In that years we didn't understand this "second Berlin Wall". Thus taking that countries the West make a threat to lose Russia. If the West took Russia to NATO, WTO and others international structures, we would have essentially different situation in the country.
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But it was the Baltics that at all costs wanted to leave Russia. I mean after all it was you who annexed them against their will. Isnt it right to let the people decide in the last instance what they want? The Baltics even though they had a considerable Russian minority after decades of planned assimilation from the Soviets, decided to leave Russia as long as it is possible and they did.
BTW there was a few years ago this argue about Kaliningrad and the EU borders between it and Russia. Hasn't this problem been solved through establishing a corridor or so?
But I see your point, actually its good to hear from a Russian for once the Russian perspective. In fact we dont really know how the Russians think here. I guess it will be similar the other way round.
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Nowaday it is very difficult to uphold ideas about democracy and social justice in Russia, where we hear about incapacity democracy in Russia from the West. Our government use this to increase it's rate and influence in Russia.
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I am not sure I understood you, can you elaborate?
Are you meaning that our criticism towards your democracy are used by your own state to increase its own influence?
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I think Oleg mean the attack to Serbia. It was very ambiguous action I think. It is interesting I heard the majority people in EU don't remember about this operation. Is it true?
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No thats not the case I think, but it might not be the first issue we think about when hearing some calling us about failures of the west. You know the list is long, apart from Iraq that is another story, we would think of Afghanistan is pretty fucked up operation.
In Kosovo, Europe did a long time only wait and see. In fact it is still critized for having been too passive for too long. On the other side, the opposition within Europe towards the NATO campaign was not to be underestimated either. Especially the UCK was not viewed as really trustworthy in the public, and that proved right in the end, so the NATO was a fool to support them.
But I am glad at least that the weapons are silent now at the Balkan. I would not go as far as to claim there is really peace established but I hope the parties down there could reach a compromise. The new consitution of Serbia did not really help this goal.