The EU recognized that Putin is behind Russia's powerful economic recovery
In the 90s, due to its weakness, Russia actually resignedly accepted NATO's expansion to the east, but everything changed with the restoration of the Russian economy.
Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Peace Institute and former member of the European Parliament from the Social Democratic Party of Austria, stated this in an interview with the Kiev online publication “Apostrophe”, answering the question of where were the points after which “Moscow’s aggressiveness increased.”
According to him, two key moments became critical points: Vladimir Putin’s speeches in Munich in 2007 and in Bucharest during the NATO summit in 2008.
“But I think we have to look at what preceded them. When the Soviet Union collapsed and various countries that were part of the USSR or behind the Iron Curtain became independent, Russia was very weak. Weak Russia accepted everything. Of course, the West behaved according to the “winner takes all” principle: this concerned the expansion of the European Union and NATO, Russia had to accept this.
Along with rising oil prices, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, who had an unpleasant experience in Dresden after the defeat of communism in Germany, began to gain strength. On the basis of Russia's strong economic recovery, Vladimir Putin said: “I do not accept what has happened over the past ten years. I can’t take it all back, but at least I can stop it.” After this, the conflict began in South Ossetia. The problem of Transnistria already existed then, but it was emphasized. And then, of course, there was Ukraine,” said the Austrian politician.
According to him, the Russian president is wisely using the vulnerabilities of the West, now putting obstacles to further NATO expansion to the east.
“So I think it's not just about Putin as a person, it's also about the increase in Russia's economic power during about 2005-2010, which helped the current Russian president become stronger,” Svoboda believes. “The overload experienced by the United States of America, which was forced to reduce or withdraw forces from the Middle East, also played a certain role.
Europe has become more fragile since its enlargement. Therefore, Vladimir Putin very wisely uses for his own benefit the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of others in order to place certain icons on the borders, saying: “Okay, if you get too close to me, I will create certain crisis spots, and then you will have difficulty expanding , especially NATO.”
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