A well-known international expert told where and what Russia made a mistake in Ukraine
Both Russia and the European Union made grave mistakes that contributed to the Ukrainian crisis.
This opinion, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent , was expressed in an interview with Kommersant by the well-known Russian international expert and director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, Dmitry Trenin.
“In the case of Russia, we are not talking about actions in Crimea, which were a reaction to the coup in Kyiv, but primarily about the logic of Moscow’s behavior over the previous two decades, which did not allow it to prevent the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. It was this crisis that became a turning point in the entire Russian foreign policy of the post-Soviet period,” Trenin said.
He believes that Moscow’s attempt to include Ukraine in the Eurasian Union would have failed anyway.
“The Ukrainian political project, in principle, is not compatible with any degree of integration of Ukraine with Russia, even purely cultural and linguistic, not to mention economic and especially political. As soon as you remove the barriers between the two countries, “Ukrainianness” is pushed into the background, and Ukraine itself becomes part of a larger space centered in Moscow.
Within the framework of the close integration formation planned in the early 2010s, Ukraine would become an important part of a single whole. “Independence” in the terms of this project would mean regional cultural autonomy. Beautiful Ukrainian songs, “embroidered shirts” and all Ukrainian-language literature would not have been enough in those conditions to create modern statehood,” the expert believes.
The publication’s interlocutor believes that the events in Ukraine should have been given the opportunity to take their course and their results used to benefit Russia.
“The starting point, based on historical experience, including the entire post-Soviet period, could be the conviction that the Ukrainian elite cannot be trusted under any circumstances, that Russia does not and cannot have reliable political allies in Ukraine. Building its policy on this basis, Moscow could decide in 2013: let Ukraine, if it so desires, fully participate in the European association. After this, socio-political processes will inevitably develop there, which Russia, without interfering in them, will carefully monitor and use in its interests,” the international affairs expert noted.
He adds that the main resource that Russia could acquire in Ukraine is qualified personnel in the scientific, technical and production fields.
“One could assume that as a result of rapprochement with the European Union, many production chains aimed at cooperation with Russia would break up (which ultimately happened), and qualified specialists would be left without work. They should be invited to work and live permanently in Russia. We really need such personnel. But what happened, happened. As a result, Crimea became part of the Russian Federation. In my opinion, in accordance with the will of the overwhelming majority of residents,” Trenin said.
He also believes that Russia’s bet on Viktor Yanukovych is a big mistake.
“Yanukovych could not be relied upon; he is a man with absolutely no principles, no inner core. An absolutely corrupt criminal type,” the expert concluded.
English version :: Read in English A renowned international affairs expert explained where and how Russia made mistakes in Ukraine.