Javier Solana, who was successively NATO Secretary General in the 1990s and later the EU’s High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, continues to chair EsadeGeo, the Center for the Global Economy and Geopolitics, but is now retired. . And although it’s on social networks, it’s more common to hear his valuable ideas outside of Spain here than in the media.
This is because a few days ago, an interesting interview with Solana by Russian President Khrushchev’s granddaughter, Nina L. Khrushchev, a professor of international relations at The New School in New York, appeared in the international press. In this article, Solana traces the path Moscow has followed on behalf of the EU since May 1997, when she and Russian Federation Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov signed the Law Establishing Mutual Relations in May 1997, when Yeltsin took office. still the president of russia. A NATO-Russia council was formed and Moscow accepted the first inauguration of NATO, which began at the Madrid Alliance summit in June 1977, with the start of the accession process of the three countries, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
This agreement was considered a success, but the thesis soon progressed that Yeltsin did not fully understand the scope of what his minister was signing. And in any case, after German reunification in 1990, the West promised Russia that NATO would not expand eastward. Solana thinks that Putin’s change of perspective is also related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which changed the US foreign policy and put the fight against terrorism at the center of the target. Washington forgets about other geostrategic issues. . In 2001, China entered the WTO, which provided a huge economic boost to the Asian country. Both factors led Putin to think that Russia was no longer seen as a great power and underestimated the role of the West on the world stage.
The interview examines the 2007 Munich Security Conference, where Putin said NATO enlargement was a “serious provocation” that undermined “mutual trust”. Similarly, he examines the evolution of Ukraine, which held presidential elections in 2004 that had to be repeated because it saw the so-called Orange Revolution Russian candidate’s victory over Yushchenko as a ruse; won the second election, but did not dare to sign a preliminary agreement for Ukraine’s accession to the EU due to Russian pressure… In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and occupied Donbas with little Western reaction… a man could tell. He did not see the invasion of Ukraine coming by a character like Putin,
Solana highlights the success of the recent NATO summit in Madrid, which opened the door to Finland and Sweden as an objective setback for Putin. However, Khrushchev opposes the growing idea in the Russian and Chinese press that NATO is not a defense organization as it seeks to establish US hegemony, so it can “support NATO’s growing presence in the world, as in Asia-Pacific. China’s caustic claim to Taiwan.” The division of the world into hostile blocs, given the strategic challenge it poses.
Solana accepts the argument and said, “The West should be clear in offering to continue the conversation and cooperation.” [con China] exactly to avoid this result. In fact, avoiding such global divergence is the biggest challenge facing the world today.” Because “the transition to “two globalizations,” one organized around the US and the other China, would have dire consequences, because neither side can solve global problems like climate change without the other. ”.
This is the big risk we face. While the Third World War was highly unlikely, the bifurcation of globalization is not at all. And if you really want to solve the vital problems of humanity, it should be avoided.
Source: Informacion
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.