The sharp but good-humored exchange between Sergey Karaganov and Vaira Vike-Freiberga went down well with the 2015 Forum for Economic Dialogue audience, who punctuated it with applause and laughter as the argument swung back and forth. But the differences were, and remained, rather stark. For Professor Karaganov, the root cause of the deterioration in the relationship is the West’s exploitation of Russian weakness in the wake of the downfall of the Soviet Union. As a result, Russian sentiment and interests were in his view completely disrespected, as exemplified by the continuing eastward expansion of the European Union and the NATO. From a Russian perspective, a red line was finally crossed when the European Union tried to associate the Ukraine, which he sees as having belonged to Russia’s sphere of influence for many centuries. According to that logic, Russia only intercepted that attempt, so that “80% of the fault for the Ukraine crisis lies with the West.” Professor Vike-Freiberga rejected that line of argumentation all around: Russia had repeatedly given assurance, including in international treaties, of the territorial integrity of the Ukraine. That Russia then disregarded international law and legitimized an invasion with an alleged sphere of influence is in her view alarming: “We should not sleep well at night, as this logic can be applied to many nations.” When Mr. Karaganov stated at one point that he did not always agree with President Putin, Ms. Vike-Freiberga retorted ironically, “How dare you!” While this exchange again exposed the differences between the two camps, it also showed that some common ground remains, including a shared history and culture.
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Panelists:
Prof. Sergey Karaganov, Dean, School of World Economics and International Affairs, National Research University, Moscow, and Honorary Chairman of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Moscow
Prof. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of the Club de Madrid and former President of Latvia
Moderator: Dr. Martin Meyer, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
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