Abstract
Through the use of a metaphor of a four-headed eagle, this chapter argues that the multiple ways by which the Russian Federation engages with Europe, including both with other post-Soviet states and with the European Union, identify the core challenges for dealing with Moscow. Russian foreign policy operates on bases that wrong-foot the EU and attempt to oblige the Union to accept both values and practices that are anathema to it. The chapter simultaneously recognises that EU-Russian relations have been particularly exacerbated by the EU’s Eastern Partnership, which unintentionally but nevertheless powerfully signalled to Moscow that the EU had itself become an aggressor. The chapter argues that the EU must still export its value system and that doing so will be in its, and wider Europe’s, long-term interests.
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Notes
- 1.
National Security Concept of the Russian Federation, Presidential Decree No. 24, 10 January 2000.
- 2.
Even Western scholarship seems misguided on this point as a reply by Mark Kramer made clear: ‘I sought to determine whether the Russian allegations are well founded [on NATO/Western assurance of non-enlargement. I concluded that they are not. The declassified negotiating records reveal that no such assurances or pledges were ever offered.’ Mark Kramer and Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, ‘NATO Enlargement—Was There a Promise?’, International Security Vol. 42, No. 1 (Summer 2017), pp. 186–92, quotation at p. 186.
- 3.
Roy Allison, Thomas Grant and Philip Leach, The Ukraine Crisis: An International Law Perspective (as per summary prepared by Carl Lewis) (London: Chatham House, 2014).
- 4.
‘Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting, Vienna, December 7, 2017’ (in English), available at: http://www.mid.ru/en/web/guest/meropriyatiya_s_uchastiem_ministra/-/asset_publisher/xK1BhB2bUjd3/content/id/2980504.
- 5.
Tatiana Romanova, ‘Russian Challenge to the EU’s Normative Power: Change and Continuity’, Europe-Asia Studies 68: 3 (2018), 372.
- 6.
Vladimir Putin, ‘Direct line with Vladimir Putin’, 17 April 2014, at http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20796.
- 7.
Celeste A. Wallander, ‘Wary of the West: Russian Security Policy at the Millennium’, Arms Control Today (1 March 2000).
- 8.
These Russian arguments are given some context in Rick Fawn and Robert Nalbandov, ‘The Difficulties of Knowing the Start of War in the Information Age: Russia, Georgia and the War over South Ossetia , August 2008’, European Security, Vol. 21, No. 1 (March 2012), pp. 57–91.
- 9.
‘Address by the president of the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin addressed State Duma deputies, Federation Council members, heads of Russian regions and civil society representatives in the Kremlin’, 18 March 2014, citing the Kremlin’s English-language version, at http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20603.
- 10.
White Book on Violations of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Ukraine (April 2014–Mid-June 2014) (Moscow: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2014), p. 57, available at: http://www.mid.ru/documents/10180/698385/White+Book-2.pdf/a6b68f97-1482-4423-9114-9f14d3bf80f8.
- 11.
Dov Lynch, Russian Peacekeeping Strategies in the CIS: The Cases of Moldova, Georgia and Tajikistan (London: Palgrave, 2000), p. 180.
- 12.
For commentary see, ‘What Does the Russian-Armenian Joint Military Force Mean for Security in the South Caucasus?’, Georgian Institute of Politics, December 2016, http://gip.ge/what-does-the-russian-armenian-joint-military-force-mean-for-security-in-the-south-caucasus/.
- 13.
John C. K. Daly, ‘Russia Proclaims ‘Parity’ in Arms Sales to Armenia and Azerbaijan’, Eurasia Daily Monitor Vol. 13, No. 71, 12 April 2016.
- 14.
Quoted in Reuters, ‘Russia says won’t halt arms sales to arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan’, 9 April 2016, available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nagorno-karabakh-russia-arms/russia-says-wont-halt-arms-sales-to-arch-foes-armenia-and-azerbaijan-idUSKCN0X60DS.
- 15.
‘Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks’.
- 16.
Carl Bildt, Russia, the European Union, and the Eastern Partnership, ECFR Riga Series Papers (no publication date), p. 1, available at: https://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/Riga_papers_Carl_Bildt.pdf.
- 17.
The issue occurred when EU membership was presumed to also mean NATO membership. See for example, Tuomas Forsberg and Hiski Haukkala, The European Union and Russia (Palgrave, 2016), p. 235.
- 18.
Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation (approved by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on November 30, 2016), paragraph 61, available at: http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/official_documents/-/asset_publisher/CptICkB6BZ29/content/id/2542248?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_CptICkB6BZ29&_101_INSTANCE_CptICkB6BZ29_languageId=en_GB.
- 19.
Andrew Wilson, Ukraine Crisis: What It Means for the West (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014), p. 17.
- 20.
Quotations from Karoly Benes, ‘Whose “Sphere of Influence”? Eastern Partnership Summit in Prague’, Central Asia and Caucasus Analyst, 3 June 2009, available at: http://www.cacianalyst.org/newsite/newsite/?q=node/5122.
- 21.
‘Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Belarusian television network RTR Belarus, December 2, 2017’, available at: http://www.mid.ru/en/web/guest/maps/ua/-/asset_publisher/ktn0ZLTvbbS3/content/id/2975550.
- 22.
Martin Russell/European Parliamentary Research Service, Russia’s information war: Propaganda or counter-propaganda? (October 2016), available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/589810/EPRS_BRI(2016)589810_EN.pdf.
- 23.
See EU EAST STRATCOM Task Force (November 2015), available at: http://www.tepsa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Kimber.pdf.
- 24.
Wilson, Ukraine Crisis, p. 14.
- 25.
A timely short analysis, also reflecting post-communist European member state understanding, was Piotr Kościński and Ievgen Vorobiov, ‘Russian Promises and Threats: Towards the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius’ (Warsaw: Polish Institute of International Affairs, 15 November 2013), available at: https://www.pism.pl/Events/Others/Russian-Promises-and-Threats-Towards-the-Eastern-Partnership-Summit-in-Vilnius.
- 26.
‘Feint praise: America’s new Russia sanctions’, The Economist, 7 January 2017, 24.
- 27.
Ilan Berman, ‘Paradise Lost in Crimea: How Russia Is Paying for the Annexation’, Foreign Affairs 8 September 2015 (online), available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2015-09-08/paradise-lost-crimea.
- 28.
Timothy Colton, Russia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 192.
- 29.
Balázs Jarábik and Dovilė Šukytė, ‘Eight years of Eastern Partnership: Hidden in the trenches’, New Eastern Europe, November 2017, available at: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2017/11/23/eight-years-eastern-partnership-hidden-trenches/.
- 30.
James Headley, ‘Challenging the EU’s claim to moral authority: Russian talk of “double standards”’, Asia Europe Journal, 13:3 (September 2015), pp. 297–307.
- 31.
See Alison Smale and Michael D. Shear, ‘Russia Is Ousted From Group of 8 by U.S. and Allies’, The New York Times, 24 March 2014.
- 32.
The Trump Administration had said the day before that it had no position, but the G7, including the European Commission, adopted a strong line on the retention of sanctions. See for example, John Irish, ‘G7 leaders must not waver on Russia sanctions, says EU’s Tusk’, Reuters, 26 May 2017.
- 33.
For such commentary, see for example, Petr Polak, ‘The Trouble With Nord Stream 2: How the Pipeline Would Benefit Russia at the EU’s Expense’, Foreign Affairs 23 August 2017, available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2017-08-23/trouble-nord-stream-2.
- 34.
Among comparative studies of Russian energy influence is Eamonn Butler and Wojciech Ostrowski (eds), Understanding Energy Security in Central and Eastern Europe (London: Routledge, 2018).
- 35.
A range of views and material is available in Maxine David and Tatiana Romanova (eds), The Routledge Handbook of EU-Russian Relations (London: Routledge, 2020).
References
Allison, Roy, Thomas Grant and Philip Leach, The Ukraine Crisis: An International Law Perspective (as per summary prepared by Carl Lewis) (London: Chatham House, 2014).
Benes, Karoly, ‘Whose “Sphere of Influence”? Eastern Partnership Summit in Prague’, Central Asia and Caucasus Analyst, 3 June 2009.
Berman, Ilan, ‘Paradise Lost in Crimea: How Russia Is Paying for the Annexation’, Foreign Affairs 8 September 2015 (online), available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2015-09-08/paradise-lost-crimea.
Bildt, Carl, Russia, the European Union, and the Eastern Partnership, ECFR Riga Series Papers (n.d.), p. 1, available at: https://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/Riga_papers_Carl_Bildt.pdf.
Butler, Eamonn and Wojciech Ostrowski (eds), Understanding Energy Security in Central and Eastern Europe (London: Routledge, 2018).
Colton, Timothy, Russia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).
Daly, John C. K., ‘Russia Proclaims ‘Parity’ in Arms Sales to Armenia and Azerbaijan’, Eurasia Daily Monitor Vol. 13, No. 71, 12 April 2016.
David, Maxine and Tatiana Romanova (eds), The Routledge Handbook of EU-Russian Relations (London: Routledge, 2020).
Fawn, Rick and Robert Nalbandov, ‘The Difficulties of Knowing the Start of War in the Information Age: Russia, Georgia and the War over South Ossetia, August 2008’, European Security, Vol. 21, No. 1 (March 2012), pp. 57–91.
Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation (approved by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on November 30, 2016), paragraph 61, available at: http://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/official_documents/-/asset_publisher/CptICkB6BZ29/content/id/2542248?p_p_id=101_INSTANCE_CptICkB6BZ29&_101_INSTANCE_CptICkB6BZ29_languageId=en_GB.
Forsberg, Tuomas and Hiski Haukkala, The European Union and Russia (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2016).
Headley, James, ‘Challenging the EU’s claim to moral authority: Russian talk of “double standards”’, Asia Europe Journal, 13:3 (September 2015), pp. 297–307.
Jarábik, Balázs and Dovilė Šukytė, ‘Eight years of Eastern Partnership: Hidden in the trenches’, New Eastern Europe, November 2017, available at: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2017/11/23/eight-years-eastern-partnership-hidden-trenches/.
Kościński, Piotr and Ievgen Vorobiov, ‘Russian Promises and Threats: Towards the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius’ (Warsaw: Polish Institute of International Affairs, 15 November 2013), available at: https://www.pism.pl/Events/Others/Russian-Promises-and-Threats-Towards-the-Eastern-Partnership-Summit-in-Vilnius.
Kramer, Mark and Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, ‘NATO Enlargement—Was There a Promise?’, International Security Vol. 42, No. 1 (Summer 2017), pp. 186–92.
Lynch, Dov, Russian Peacekeeping Strategies in the CIS: The Cases of Moldova, Georgia and Tajikistan (London: Palgrave, 2000).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, White Book on Violations of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Ukraine (April 2014–Mid-June 2014) (Moscow: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, 2014), available at: http://www.mid.ru/documents/10180/698385/White+Book-2.pdf/a6b68f97-1482-4423-9114-9f14d3bf80f8.
National Security Concept of the Russian Federation, Presidential Decree No. 24, 10 January 2000.
Polak, Petr, ‘The Trouble With Nord Stream 2: How the Pipeline Would Benefit Russia at the EU’s Expense’, Foreign Affairs 23 August 2017, available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2017-08-23/trouble-nord-stream-2.
Romanova, Tatiana, ‘Russian Challenge to the EU’s Normative Power: Change and Continuity’, Europe-Asia Studies 68: 3 (2018), pp. 371–90.
Wallander, Celeste A., ‘Wary of the West: Russian Security Policy at the Millennium’, Arms Control Today (1 March 2000).
Wilson, Andrew, Ukraine Crisis: What It Means for the West (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014).
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Fawn, R. (2020). The Dilemmas of a Four-Headed Russian Eagle for the EU: Russia as Conflict Instigator, Mediator, Saviour and Perpetuator. In: Fawn, R. (eds) Managing Security Threats along the EU’s Eastern Flanks . New Security Challenges. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26937-1_3
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