Supporting separatism is not in Russia’s national interest
Interview with Igor Gretskiy, professor of international relations at St Petersburg State University. Interviewer: Iwona Reichardt.
IWONA REICHARDT: This week Donald Trump comes to Poland, which will be his first visit to our region as US president. He will be visiting at the same time when the new Three Seas Initiative is holding a summit in Warsaw, a project championed by Poland and Croatia among others, which clearly has a strong anti-Russian component. What is Russia’s position towards this concept of Three Seas?
IGOR GREKTSKIY: Since 2009 all such initiatives have been regarded by Russia in a very negative way, as the official Russian rhetoric is based on the thesis of its near abroad. In addition, Poland is perceived here as the leading actor in formulating the EU, and the West’s more broadly, foreign policy towards the former Soviet states. This is the prism through which all initiatives of this kind have been perceived. To counteract them Russia has been trying to build separate bilateral relations with individual countries. Not with organisations, which can be difficult, but with specific states. Russia uses this technique to forge cleavages between countries. So, to sum up the more organizations, or fora or initiatives, that are established, the more opportunities for the countries that participate in them to find security solutions in the East. But at the same time, it also means more opportunities for Russia to create divisions between them.
Полностью интервью с кандидатом исторических наук, доцентом СПбГУ Игорем Грецким читать здесь