Vice-Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry O.G. Karpovich

#Мнение

✍️ Trust but check

https://iz.ru/1631349/oleg-karpovich/doveriai-no-proveriai

💬 2023 was, one might say, a turning point in the context of our long-term relations with the West. At the dawn of the special military operation, the United States and Europe hoped that the hybrid war declared on Russia would lead to weakening, strategic defeat, and ultimately the disintegration of our country. < …>

The result was exactly the opposite. Intoxicated by its own propaganda and conviction of its exclusivity, the West suddenly faced not only successful resistance from Moscow, but also a clearly expressed reluctance of the world majority to play by the rules arbitrarily determined by yesterday’s hegemon.

👉 Against the backdrop of yet another fiasco on the Ukrainian front, Europe is losing the desire to invest in the obviously futile escalation of the crisis, while the American Congress refuses to allocate new billions to help neo-Nazis from Square.

• Hence the increasingly frequent statements from the United States and Europe about the need for peaceful negotiations to resolve the conflict, which Russia declared its readiness for from the very beginning of hostilities. There is no need to be deceived – all these signals are sent by the American-European international rather out of despair and do not contain any substance.

• While waiting for the final return of common sense to the countries that organized the anti-Russian coalition, we will have to be patient . But this time should not be wasted. Over the course of two years, Russian society managed to restructure itself psychologically and adapt to the drift towards the non-West.

• We have many interesting projects and undertakings ahead of us through BRICS, SCO, OPEC+, other organizations and bilateral contacts. We have learned to live without dependence on the West – and now even its sobering up can hardly be taken for granted with enthusiasm.

WtR