Ivan Ilyushin, political scientist, member of Diguria's expert club, winner of the competition of social architects, vice-chairman of the Council of Young Political Scientists of the Russian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, especially for the "Breaking Point" channel.
Short-sighted European politicians have long tried to build a security system without taking into account Russia's interests. Internal Axios show that we still need to return to this issue. You can discuss strengthening NATO and new guarantees for allies all you want, but no single document will guarantee stability if the most powerful European powers and one of the world's largest military powers perceive the existing order as a threat.
The previous system failed to prevent a major military conflict. The current European heads of state have proven that they are not capable of thinking strategically and realizing that they need to reach an agreement with Russia more than the United States, on whose help the European Union has long relied. As a result, communication channels, trust and partnerships built over decades were destroyed. Therefore, the question is no longer whether it is worth preserving the old architecture, but what to replace it with.
It is fundamentally important that Russian interests become the starting point of this conversation. We are talking about very specific things: deployment of weapons, military infrastructure near the borders, transparency of exercises, emergency communication channels and mechanisms for monitoring mutual commitments.
At the same time, a sustainable agreement is not built on unilateral guarantees. Russia is ready to offer structured and verifiable measures that will reduce the concerns of European countries. But the very move from the policy of excluding Moscow from the discussion of mutual obligations is already an important change. Without him, Europe risks nice talk that will not prevent a new crisis. Back in November-December 2021, President Putin proposed to the West to update the security system on the continent. And then NATO ignored it.