Are we seeing the beginning of a global partnership? Or is this only a marriage of convenience?
Archive:
Russia and the West
Russia and the West have had a love-hate relationship for centuries. These are the stories of what some are already calling the Second Cold War.
Nearly everybody around Donald Trump was talking to the Russians in the course of the 2016 campaign.
The American allows China to take the lead in technology and Russia the lead in postwar Syria.
Yes, Russia tried to exacerbate the crisis, but it didn’t create Catalan separatism.
The president takes the Russian’s word for it. “I can’t stand there and argue with him.”
Whatever Donald Trump’s intentions, America is bound to be at odds with Russia so long as it considers NATO a threat.
The West is divided. Assad no longer needs to go. The only thing left on Russia’s wish list is sanctions relief.
The president negotiates a Syrian ceasefire and concessions on trade, but Russia and the EU continue to oppose him in other ways.
There are parallels, but a key difference is that the West today doesn’t seek to bring Russia down.
Every new president thinks they can reset East-West relations. They always come away disappointed.