Fyodor Lukyanov on the Relationships of Ukraine, Russia, the EU, and the United States

Like no other country, the Ukraine has a special place in the heart and the security interests of Russia.

Russia began in 1991 and the European Union formally took place in 1992.
As EU growth stalls and Britain leaves the EU, this may open up rapprochement between the EU and Russia.
Ukraine has a special place in the heart of Russians unlike any other country that used to be a part of the Soviet Union. It is okay by Russia for all those other countries to be a part of EU and NATO, but not Ukraine.
Zalenski received a historic mandate from both the Parliament and the population for Ukraine to establish normalized relations with Russia
But now he has to transition from playing the role of a president to actually being the president of Ukraine
The nature of the conflict from the beginning is that no party and no country wants to be 100% honest
Whether or not Ukrainians signed the Minsk agreement in 2015 under duress, it is still the reality that they signed it and are obligated to follow it
After years of Ukraine complaining that Russia was using its gas preserves and Transit as a weapon against Ukraine, it is now asking for a long-term contract for the use of and transit of that gas
Prior to the current contract which was signed in 2010, there was great controversy and cessation of natural gas supply to the European Union
For about five years Ukraine tried to disrupt trade with Russia, which caused great deal of stress in Russia, but now trade is growing
No other territory is as important security wise to Russia as is Ukraine
The example is used in the discussion of Canada, Portugal, Lithuania, turkey, and Greece. From a NATO perspective, these countries have much different interests including security interests.
Macron sees that he needs a good relationship with Russia in order to strengthen his relationship with the EU and the United States
Because EU countries are afraid of Russia as an existential threat, they maintain a close relationship with the United States

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