beyondukraine.euandrussiainsearchofanewrelation

70 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in Search of a New Relation
(with Russian television being in the ‘front line’) Putin’s Russia
made the annexation – in March 2014 – of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol, thereby consolidating its geostrategic position on the
Black Sea.
It should be borne in mind that the ultimate goal of Putin’s
policy is a radical change in the current territorial system of
Central and Eastern Europe, with the intention of regaining direct
or indirect influence over some former Soviet territories. Putin
himself has repeatedly said that the dissolution of the USSR (by
which he also means the fall of Russian domination) was “the
largest geopolitical catastrophe” of the XX century. Putin’s wars,
from Georgia to Ukraine, have a territorial and geopolitical
character. The Russian annexation of Crimea and de facto
domination over the Donbas region means – in particular
regarding Crimea – a serious violation of international law and a
dangerous precedent for possible territorial changes in Europe.
Nevertheless it is important to point out that some Eastern and
Central European countries show attitudes that differ from that of
Warsaw. Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has recently
met Vladimir Putin signing an important energy agreement. The
Czech Republic’s President, Miloš Zeman, in his interview with a
Russian radio station said that his dream is to see Russia as a
member of the European Union. Nevertheless, these positions do
not derive from a pro-Russian policy, but are motivated by the
political, economic and military opportunities that such
cooperation can provide.
No room for historical reconciliation?
The current Russian ‘historical narrative’ on Polish-Russian
relations and the assessment of Polish politics is clearly negative.
However, it should be noted that in the first decade of the twentyfirst
century attempts to understand the complexity of these
relationships were made – a noble effort, considering it took place
under the most difficult circumstances in the entire history of
Polish-Russian relations throughout the twentieth century. As a