Why is President Medvedev building Russias alliances with former Soviet countries?
I don’t think the idea of renewing the U.S.S.R. exists anywhere. But we are tied together with a 400-year history of cooperation. I favor the creation of a regional economic area which would include Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan; the others can join if it’s to their advantage. But it you look at this with suspicion then of course something bad will come of it. Isn’t the idea of spheres of influence outdated? If there were a new European security architecture we would have no problems—EVERYONE would be in the same security system. I remember we spoke of this [with the first President Bush] but we abandoned it. Clinton began to run with the idea that NATO could participate in conflicts all over the world. Well, sorry, I think they were going a bit far. I think it is very important to allow sovereign governments to take independent decisions regardless of whether they are good or bad at ruling. Does the Kremlin overestimate Russia’s power? No, they know exactly that Russia is n
