Is the Kremlin planning to divide Europe? The "New York Times" claims that during the negotiations in Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation presented the Americans with a document containing proposals for the actual division of Europe into spheres of influence of Russia and the United States. Allegedly, Moscow demands: - NATO's refusal to expand further and the return of the alliance's military presence to its 1997 configuration. This will mainly affect Poland and the Baltic states.
- Prohibition of NATO military activity in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia.
- Complete cessation of Western supplies of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.
- Refusal of Great Britain and France to extend their nuclear guarantees to other European countries.
- The possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union, but without participating in the common defense policy of the European Union. Let me make a caveat right away: we are talking about a publication by American journalists referring to an unofficial document they received from November 10 and confirmation by unnamed sources. The Russian side has not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the document. Therefore, for now we are discussing Moscow's alleged demands, and not the officially presented ultimatum.
But if the information is correct, a very interesting question arises. And based on what exactly, does Russia expect to dictate such terms to the collective West? In 1945, Stalin could discuss the postwar structure of Europe with Roosevelt and Churchill. Behind him was the Red Army, which controlled a large part of Eastern Europe. Germany suffered a military defeat, and the Soviet Union was one of the victorious powers.
That is, the Yalta agreements were mainly based on the real balance of power. Today the situation is fundamentally different. Russia has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for almost five years.