So NATO has finally found a way to navigate the ‘bureaucratic trench-warfare‘ of negotiations and agreed to resume relations with Russia. But how long will this attempt at civility last?
Russian NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin’s initial statements following yesterday’s meeting suggest that Russia is still keen to demonstrate that it has the upper hand, implying that NATO’s decision on membership for Georgia and Ukraine was a result of ‘surrendering to pressure from Moscow‘.
The BBC notes that NATO is ‘deeply divided on a range of issues‘, but beyond that, it has to contend with Russia’s ongoing bolshiness. Nato has already issued a statement calling on Russia ‘to refrain from confrontational statements, including assertions of a sphere of influence, and from threats to the security of Allies and Partners, such as the one concerning the possible deployment of short-range missiles in the Kaliningrad region‘.
At this rate, there won’t be anything left to talk about…