beyondukraine.euandrussiainsearchofanewrelation

62 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in Search of a New Relation
in April 2015, despite persisting strategic differences, Russia
continues to share with the West a number of fundamental
interests, ranging from the non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction to fighting organized crime and terrorism, and tackling
poverty 40 . Whereas the descent into a new Cold War could prove
particularly costly for Moscow, the West could gain by
acknowledging that there might be some substance to Russian
grievances 41 ; while Ukraine’s association agreement with the EU
was one of the triggers of the current crisis, Germany, in light of
its role in the inception of the post-Cold War settlement and its
influence within the bloc of 28, has gradually taken centre stage,
making it clear that it will not ship arms to Kiev 42 . Berlin’s
problem, however, is that it does not appear to have a
comprehensive solution to bring the crisis to an end, while the
structure of the EU’s common security and defense policy is no
help 43 . Having deep-seated interests in ending the conflict,
preserving Ukraine’s territorial integrity and restoring meaningful
cooperation with Moscow, Germany and other members of the
European Union should lobby with the United States and their
Eastern European partners to adopt a policy that recognizes
Russia’s security interests and minority rights, while upholding
the territorial integrity of Ukraine and other former Soviet
republics. As negotiations with Iran have recently proved, good
relations with Russia are essential for the West to deal with a
number of pressing issues, including the conflicts in Syria, Iraq
and Afghanistan, an increasing terrorist threat, and eventually with
the rise of China’s political and military prowess. While in the
current scenario the assumption of any significant role by the EU –
for example through a joint EU-Russian crisis management
operation in Eastern Ukraine with the participation of OSCE
40 http://www.russianews.net/index.php/sid/232073445.
41 M.E. Sarotte (2009).
42 S. Braun, “Waffen für Kiew? Merkel ist ‘da sehr zweifelnd’”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 7 February 2015,
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/muenchner-sicherheitskonferenz-waffen-fuer-kiew-merkel-istda-sehr-zweifelnd-1.2340946.
43 See J.J. Mearsheimer, “Don’t Arm Ukraine”, The New York Times, 8 February 2015.