beyondukraine.euandrussiainsearchofanewrelation

Seen from Moscow: Greater Europe at Risk 89
any rational pragmatism and realism will hang suspended. Without
such guidelines, any pragmatic activity carried out by a country
resembles “rats in the garbage” – i.e. the shortsighted use of
available opportunities without any long-term thinking.
In contrast, the presence of a common unifying idea makes
pragmatism meaningful and focused on attaining common longterm
goals.
What exactly can be done to realize the idea of a Greater
Europe and avoid taking situation-based, chaotic and hostile steps?
The minimum required steps seem to be as follows.
In the field of security it is necessary to refrain from provoking
actions in the military sphere, namely the build-up of military
forces, dangerous approaches by military aircraft, warships, etc. It
is also important to carry out military exercises and maneuvers in
contact zones between Russian and NATO forces in a mutually
predictable way.
Russia and the U.S. should separate the Ukrainian crisis from
other security issues and existing treaties like INF.
All the sides concerned should spare no effort in achieving a
cease-fire in Ukraine, promoting negotiations between the
conflicting parties and reaching a long-term solution to the conflict
by re-shaping the country’s territorial structure, or by other means
acceptable to the parties to the conflict. Under the current
conditions, it implies the multilateral support and promotion of the
Minsk agreements.
To this aim, it would be wise to establish a mechanism of
regular multilateral consultations (contact groups) on the crisis in
Europe. It is crucially important to have a regular format for Euro-
Atlantic leaders’ interaction to manage the existing crisis.
The issue of the Treaty on European Security, as well as the
reform of the OSCE should be put back on the agenda. The very
fact of discussion may help to rebuild at least some level of trust.
The work of the NATO-Russia Council should be resumed and
in addition to its use for Ukraine it should serve again as a
discussion forum to address issues of common threats and
challenges.