Shadows of the Cold War: experts' views on Russian and Western contacts

A meeting of the discussion platform "Tverskay 21st Century" "Shadows of the Cold War: Russia and the West in modern reality" took place today in Moscow today. The event was held at the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia. It was attended by the chief editor of the magazine 'Russia in Global Affairs', Fyodor Lukyanov and the CEO of the Institute for Foreign Policy Research and Initiatives, Veronika Krasheninnikova.

The attacks in Brussels showed the deplorable state of the European Union, the chief editor of 'Russia in Global Affairs' Fyodor Lukyanov said.

"It was astonishing how the attacks could happen in Brussels. This is a systemic incapacity of the EU," a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza cites him as saying.

The expert expressed the opinion that the fight against terrorism cannot unite everybody. "The example of America after September 11 clearly shows it. When the public safety threat arises especially on such a scale, then a serious state relies on itself and it is the right way. NATO also extended and strengthened then...,'' he said.

The editor-in-chief of the magazine Russia in Global Affairs told how the ex-CIA chief George Tenet wrote about this period. "He tried to justify himself for September 11th and Iraq. He describes meetings with the Russian Federation and the United States after September 11th very well. He said that they were meetings with spies. He had never had a true desire to cooperate neither with one side, nor the other sides," the expert said.

Lukyanov warned of an impending shift in priorities. "Europe will be focused only on itself soon. If something happens in Germany it will lead to significant social and political changes and Europe will go along the fairway. A weakened Europe won't bring anything good to the world. It will be the subject of a new struggle for influence," he predicts.

The director general of the Foreign Policy and Initiatives Research Institute, Veronika Krasheninnikova, said that the current time was the most interesting period in the history of Russia for experts since 1991. "At least we occasionally began to lead our line in foreign policy," she explained.

The expert pointed out that the return of Crimea to Russia can be considered as a starting point."Crimea is an absolutely fundamental point in our history. In my viewpoint, it was the moment when we stopped the expansion of NATO to the east," Krasheninnikova said.

"If the Crimea didn't take this decision the NATO troops would stand around the Crimean coast in 2012. The US Department of Defense has already repaired a school for their needs," the director general of the Foreign Policy and Initiatives Research Institute said.

According to her, the next step was Syria. It is the first episode when Moscow took the initiative beyond the former Soviet Union territory.

"These are the far borders of our country. If we didn't do that, then a state with terrorists would appear near our borders and it would have extended across the North Caucasus up to the Volga. Maps of the state that Daesh wanted to create were painted black right up to Kazan,'' the expert warned.