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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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