Russia and NATO Should Be Allies Not Enemies
- By Nicolai N. Petro, Robert Bruce Ware
- October 10, 2014
Larry Downing / Reuters
At the NATO conference in Wales earlier this month, leaders of the alliance found themselves torn between two crises: the civil war in Ukraine and threats posed by the Islamic State....The Ukrainian civil war results, in large part, from the ill-fated decision to exclude Russia from the European alliance system. This decision effectively set up a separate track for dealing with Russia, creating an "us" versus "them" situation. Viewing Russia as an inalienable part of Europe is arguably the key emotional and cognitive shift missing from the post-Cold War generation in Europe....
A new NATO that embraces Russia as a full member and re-envisions itself as defending and promoting the core Western values that Russia shares is a far more viable organization than that which is based upon an obsolete posture of hostility toward Russia. Just as the threat of the Islamic State is motivating new alliances in the Middle East, so it is time for the realignment of NATO. With this one bold move, the world can avert several imminent catastrophes.
A new NATO that embraces Russia as a full member and re-envisions itself as defending and promoting the core Western values that Russia shares is a far more viable organization than that which is based upon an obsolete posture of hostility toward Russia. Just as the threat of the Islamic State is motivating new alliances in the Middle East, so it is time for the realignment of NATO. With this one bold move, the world can avert several imminent catastrophes.
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