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WORLD
By Lidia Okorokova
These traditional foes have long eyed each other
with suspicion and envy, but they promise to put
past differences aside in order to combat the enormous
challenges facing the planet.
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 coupled with the Soviet
Union’s collapse two years later signalled the end of the
Cold war between the United States and the USSR.
A type of love-hatred relationship that lasted for 20 years
until Barack Obama swooped in and proposed a reset of
relations during his summer visit to Moscow this year.
He expressed hopes for co-ordination and co-operation
between the Russian Federation and the US.
Since the beginning of the world economic collapse last
year, world leaders started to act in the way they had
previously never done before. The BRIC countries (Brazil,
Russia, India and China) declared an official alliance
between one another. Now they will aim to back each
other up to the hilt on the global stage.
The four nations make up 40 per cent of the world’s
population and their economies are growing, particularly
China and India’s (which is causing US leaders sleepless
nights).
The European Union has been struggling to get the Lisbon
Treaty singed for almost 10 years now. Tension reached
a pitch in the past two years, when Ireland initially voted
No and then with the aid of the recession here, passed
the Treaty last October.
Unions, alliances and cooperatives “getting together”
are becoming more popular between world leaders: G8,
G20, BRIC, EU etc. They meet to find ways to direct the
downturn by holding environmental and military talks,
etc.
“Alliances aside, where have the resources
been proposed to come from”
Many experts have named China and the US as a possible
future G2. China has far more production methods than
any other country in the world, whilst the US tends to
prevail in areas of technology.
This alliance may well be missing a very important thing - the
resources. Where do we find most of the natural resources today
In Russia, where most of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies
are found.
So we might be seeing a new bloc of countries forming an alliance
in the following years. If Mr Obama, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia
and Hu Jintao of China decide to unite, this may become the most
advantageous superpower alliance in the world.
There will be many benefits for all three countries if such an
alliance takes place. Think of all the technological development
that US has a possession of added to Chinese manpower and
Russian resources.
Moscow and Washington, working together from G8 or UN
perspectives may open up new horizons for the biggest and fastest
growing economy in the world – China.
“a fairytale for most economists and
political experts.”
China, in return, may help further boost the Russian economy,
which has tightened up on oil and gas prices and has been in
serious trouble since last August’s drop from highs of $140 per
barrel of oil to just $40.
China has tended to remain at odds with the US with regard to its
diplomatic and economic issues, and vice-versa. The US has still
some way to go in healing its relations with Russia after decades
of strife.
If Moscow and Washington are to “reset” their relationship,
why do they become not just two countries co-operating on
major issues, but a full-time union working on diplomatic and
technological issues around the world.
Remember, during the Cold War, both Russia and the US increased
its technological developments, and with such, they may now
enter into a new co-operative work.
From a diplomatic point of view, the Kremlin and White House
are engaged in numerous military and environmental discussions
around the globe, i.e. Iran’s nuclear programme, recent agreement
of Russia in supplying its helicopters in the war against the Taliban,
Afghanistan, etc.
So it might well benefit everyone if these once habitual foes unite
and challenge the enormous difficulties facing the globe.
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