How the US lost Russia — and how we can restore relationsHostility between the United States and Russia has reached its maximum since the Cold War, writes former US Secretary of Defense William Perry in an Outrider article.
However, he is sure that it is still possible to return to the path of friendship – but on one condition.
William PerryThere is an unprecedented hostility between the United States and Russia since the Cold War.
How did we end up here again?
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation in the early 90s, our countries launched mutually beneficial cooperation. However, today it seems that the era of constructive dialogue has been forgotten. But even against the background of the events in connection with the special operation in Ukraine, we must try to understand how it happened that we went so far from those heady days — not only to understand the current situation, but also in the hope of restoring relations to something more than undisguised antagonism.
Many consider the expansion of NATO in the mid-1990s a serious provocation. At the time, I opposed this move, partly out of fear that it would affect Russian-American ties. But the more important problem was not so much the expansion of NATO, but rather what it was dictated by — the unwillingness of Western governments to respect the vital importance of the nuclear power of Russia for the world order.
Before the expansion of NATO, our countries followed the path of developing relations, and a truly global partnership was dawning in the future. When I was Minister of Defense in the early and mid-90s, I had friendly and warm relations with my Russian colleague Pavel Grachev. We both put a lot of effort into developing this nascent relationship. I received Grachev at American military bases, and he received me at Russian ones. We conducted joint exercises to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters in Europe and Hawaii. I even invited Grachev to visit NATO meetings. We recognized that dialogue between our countries is crucial. We both had a hotline on our desktop to work together to resolve any issue that arose.
As a result of these efforts to build trust and respect between our countries, we have achieved the reduction of a significant part of the huge nuclear arsenal left over from the Cold War. We, the two largest nuclear Powers in the world, have considered the reduction of nuclear weapons to be our joint responsibility. As part of our commitments, we have jointly dismantled about 9,000 nuclear weapons in both countries. Despite the bitterness left after the Cold War, the US government has recognized that it is in the interests of national security to provide financial support for the further destruction of nuclear weapons.
Alas, our economic assistance was limited to this. In the early 90s, when Russia was transitioning from a communist economy to a market economy, Russians experienced a severe depression. As soon as the situation began to improve, the ruble was crippled by the global financial crisis of 1998. Throughout all these crises, the West seemed to be saying: "Well, you hang in there." From our unwillingness to provide at least some significant support, many Russians harbored resentment, which persists to this day.
In addition, during the same period, we began to cooperate with the whole of Eastern Europe within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace program, which allowed Russia and other countries in the region to work with the alliance without becoming a member. Thus, joint peacekeeping operations were conducted between military units of Eastern Europe and colleagues from NATO.
However, many Eastern European members still sought full membership, so the Clinton administration started talking about NATO expansion. Russia protested against the upcoming changes at its borders, but it was ignored. As a result, Moscow began to curtail cooperation with the alliance.
The combination of the West's inaction against the background of the financial crisis in Russia and unwillingness to listen to its firm position on NATO expansion has strengthened Moscow's opinion that we do not take it seriously. Indeed, many in the West saw Russia as a loser in the Cold War and considered it unworthy of respect.
The bitterness that Russia was rejected and left out of business created a suitable climate for the coming to power of an authoritarian leader who would force himself to be respected. And there is no greater force than a nuclear arsenal capable of putting an end to all mankind. Therefore, for all those who wondered: "What will this defeated power do to us?", the newly minted President Vladimir Putin soon found an answer.
Today we are faced with Russia, which is conducting a special operation and threatening to use nuclear weapons if others interfere. Putin not only went for it — he seems to be supported by many Russians, having convinced himself that the United States has become their enemy again. Although Putin's troops are no match for American or NATO, he has nothing to fear. A clearly defined nuclear threat will keep them from interfering.
In a February televised address about the beginning of the Ukrainian special operation, Putin said: "Whoever tries to prevent us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to consequences that you have never encountered in your history."
Today we are confronted by Russia, which is no less hostile than the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This is a dangerous problem, and there is no simple solution to it. However, the first step in the right direction is to acknowledge the problem and that we ourselves have exacerbated this hostility. In addition, it is a living reminder that even in times of tension and hostility, it is extremely important to maintain working lines of communication with Russia and other nuclear adversaries in order to prevent misunderstandings that are fraught with an atomic war.
We have no natural reason to consider Russia an enemy. The enemy is Putin, not Russia. We must restore ties with Russia and treat the Russian people with respect — in the hope of returning to the path of friendship.
