There are differing views within NATO on a changing of the guard in Moscow. While Eastern European NATO countries are aiming for the implosion of Russia, Western NATO countries fear the instability this could cause. “Where will those nuclear weapons go?” asks Senior Security and Defense Researcher Bob Deen of the Clingendael Institute on the Perestrojkast podcast.
A few months ago, Oleksii Danilova, security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, said that Ukraine is aiming not only for victory on the battlefield, but ultimately for the implosion of at least the Putin regime. This point of view is not unique to Ukraine, Eastern NATO countries such as the Baltic states and Poland also have a different position in the competition.
“Ukrainians want to go much further and they are not alone”
“Ukrainians want to go much further and they are not alone in this,” Deen says. According to the researcher, there is also a strong feeling between the Baltic states and Poland that they will never be safe as long as Russia is ruled by the current regime. This has implications. Deen calls it “a very interesting and also a bit concerning contrast between East and West within NATO”.
Instability
After all, Western Europe’s NATO allies and the United States don’t need an imploding Russia, “because that produces a great deal of instability.” ‘Where do those nuclear weapons go then?’ Deen wonders. According to NATO, the end of the war is seen from different angles. The West looks at Russia from the point of view of risk management, while the Eastern European countries want to get rid of the Russian threat once and for all: “Then at least the war will really be over.”
According to Deen, Ukraine is the most extreme with statements that it wants to reduce Russia to a smaller country that can never again pose a threat. Incidentally, Deen adds that this is a goal for Ukraine and not a means and that Kiev would prefer a good relationship with its neighbor. “They don’t necessarily want to destroy Russia, because they are so anti-Russian, but they see the Kremlin (…) as a historic threat.”
“This is an interesting and somewhat worrying contrast between East and West within NATO”
No vision
Also worrying: The West actually has no insight into these Eastern European ambitions and tries to stay away from this discussion. A pity, thinks Deen, because consequently the West is not prepared for possible scenarios of possible instability in Russia. “And if you ask Dutch politicians, they will give you the only correct answer: It depends on the Russian peopleWell, that has to decide for itself. Of course we all know that’s not quite the case, because we have some influence on that with sanctions.’
Listen to the whole conversation in BNR Perestrojkast
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
