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Increasing European and Russian Partnership

Christopher King argues that Britain and Europe should look eastwards, towards Russia

and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and abandon the deadly embrace of the United

States if they are to realize their economic

potential and regain their political

independence.

Despite the Cold War, Russia and Europe traded commodities

entirely reliably and since abandonment of Russia’s command

economy with its dogmas a broad movement for closer economic

links has developed. More importantly, Russia’s culture is

European in depth so it has also been possible for imaginative

Europeans to think in terms of other areas of convergance.

Deauville summ it

It was therefore a welcome surprise to read of the Deauville summit this week at which Russian President Dmitry

Medvedev, his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had a meeting of minds

on, in the Russian view, building “a common vision of Europe”. Apparently, Medvedev sees Russia as part of Europe,

which is an excellent sign.

There is a great deal to gain on both sides, in both economic and political terms. Moscow hopes to create a

Russia-EU committee on foreign policy

and security, according to Russian news

reports, and to build security cooperation

in the “Euro-Atlantic and Eurasia region”.

French diplomats have floated the idea of 

a new zone of economic and security

cooperation comprising the EU and Russia,

while German officials say they are open

to the idea of Russian participation in the

EU’s political and security committee,

which is responsible for setting the bloc’s

foreign policy. (See “At Deauville, Europe

embraces Russia”,New York Times.)

An important suggestion is the possibility of Russia scrapping its visa requirements for European Union visitors.

This would have an enormously positive effect in marketing Russia as part of Europe to the EU public, which has

an older generation impressed with memories of the Cold War and younger people who, certainly in Britain, have

recently been subjected to a barrage of pro-American propaganda about Russian aggression following the Georgian

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invasion of South Ossetia. Russia is a treasure trove of interest to tourists and of possibilities for business. Making

the country more accessible and a good personal experience to visitors will pay enormous dividends on both sides.

In summary, Russia wants a security treaty with the EU in parallel with NATO and assistance with modernizing;

France and Germany also want security assurances as well as secure energy supplies and would welcome the

opportunity for their highly-skilled companies to work in Russia. In principle there appear to be no problems and it

appears to be this that was being explored at Deauville.

France and Germany in the lead

France, Germany and Russia “have a visceral aversion to warfare that Britain and the United States, because of 

their own histories of successful aggression, do not feel. Britain and the US do not, therefore, understand the core

motivations of Europe and Russia.”

Why only France

and Germany with

Russia at

Deauville? Some

countries are upset

at this. Obviously

these are the

biggest EU

countries with thestrongest economies

and armed forces. A

factor just as

important however

is the history of 

these countries.

France and

Germany were the

initiators of the

European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) with the objective to make war between them impossible by economic

integration. That small beginning became the European Union. Russia suffered terribly in World War II and has

had the unhappy experience of invasion from both France and Germany. These three countries have a visceral

aversion to warfare that Britain and the United States, because of their own histories of successful aggression, do

not feel. Britain and the US do not, therefore, understand the core motivations of Europe and Russia.

This is not to say that other EU countries do not have an aversion to warfare but they interpret it differently.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are in accord with France and Germany and joined in the original

ECSC. Members of the European Union who joined later have viewed the EU merely in terms of economic

advantage, if not financial handouts, and never understood its fundamental purpose. As EU members Poland and

the Czech Republic have been playing America off against Russia and the EU itself in accepting US missile bases.

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US divisiveness

America, which controls NATO, has pushed for the EU and NATO to extend to Russia’s borders in its own interests,

as it mistakenly perceives them. Worse, at the same time as pressing for EU and NATO admission for Georgia, the

US initiated a war between Georgia and Russia. The UK’s Brown government and the UK media were unanimous,

with the US, in loud condemnation of Russian aggression. Those event were thoroughly investigated by the EU.

The US role and the UK’s partisanship will have been seen very negatively by the core EU countries and Russia.

The United States made another very serious mistake, however. Recently, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the

Netherlands and Norway

asked the US to remove its

nuclear weapons from Europe.

The US refused. An

unidentified bureaucrat said

that this was a NATO decision

and individual countries

should not become involved in

such matters. This was really a

test of US attitudes following

the Georgian debacle and will

also have been seen very

negatively in Europe.

Europe has become

disenchanted with the US wars

in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were hawked around Europe by Anthony Blair on the basis of lies and a specious

argument that NATO needed to become involved in theatres outside Europe in order to preserve the alliance. The

US views its seizure of Middle East oil reserves as entirely legitimate given its military force, its economic interests

and its desire to contain various countries that from time to time it decides it dislikes. The European and UK 

publics have never been in favour of participation in these wars which have served to undermine confidence in their

own governments and leaders. Most European leaders now realize that they must exit these wars as quickly and

with what grace they can.

Iran, Turkey and Shanghai Co operation Organization

The three at Deauville discussed Iran and have “left the door open” for a negotiated settlement on its nuclear

enrichment programme. This gives a hint of future developments. Turkey is also sympathetic to Iran’s entitlement

to enrich uranium and China has made oil deals with Iran. Let us bear in mind the existence of the Shanghai

Cooperation Organization (SCO) that is concerned broadly with security and economic cooperation, including the

possibility of creating a common reserve currency. Indeed, according to the Financial Times a number of the world’s

biggest banks, including HSBC, StanChard, CityGroup and JP Morgan, are promoting the Chinese renminbi for

trade.

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“We are seeing not only a deepening relationship between the EU and Russia but the commencement of Eurasian

cooperation across the whole continent. The push factor is that the United States has become a source of global

problems.”

The SCO group includes

China, Russia, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and

Uzbekistan. At the 2010

meeting in Yekaterinburg,

India, Pakistan, Iran and

Mongolia attended as

observers. The request

from the US to attend as

an observer was refused; it

is not, after all, part of 

Eurasia. Essentially, the

European Union has an

opportunity to join this

continent-spanning group from the advantageous economic position of having Russia, the European member, on its

borders with Russia taking primary responsibility for security problems that might arise when dealing with the

others. Fundamentally, because of its geographical position, Russia is seeking not dominance as the Americannarrative would have it, but security and stability. The EU offers the best initial possibilities here. It is an

opportunity that the EU should seize.

We are seeing not only a deepening relationship between the EU and Russia but the commencement of Eurasian

cooperation across the whole continent. The push factor is that the United States has become a source of global

problems. Unhappily, because of its own publicly-stated objectives of full-spectrum military and financial world

dominance, the US sees enemies and countries to “contain” or for interventions everywhere. Its mistaken actions

are contributing to serious instabilities. The pull factor is the need for law and stability at a time when patterns of 

trade and resource availability are changing.

Britain out in the cold

It is unfortunate that Britain has attached itself strongly to the US both economically and militarily. Britain’s

enthusiasm for the European Union project is so weak that it would not have occurred to the Deauville three to

invite its participation in these talks about wider integration.

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“ Britain’s neglect of Europe and

Russia is to its economic and

strategic disadvantage. There is little

doubt that it is now merely a satrapy

of the United States.”

Britain’s neglect of Europe and

Russia is to its economic and

strategic disadvantage. There is little

doubt that it is now merely a

satrapy of the United States. Its

allegedly independent strategic

nuclear deterrent, the Trident

submarine system, now has the

systems for arming, fusing and firing

its warheads designed and

manufactured by the United States. There have been problems in obtaining proper information about these, clearly

because the US controls the use of these weapons. Effectively, therefore, Britain has no independent strategic

defence at all; Trident is merely an arm of the US military and might as well be scrapped.

As a result of Britain’s attachment to the United States and its own incompetence, the British Ministry of Defence

has a cumulative budget overspend of GBP 35 billion. One result is that commitments have been given for theconstruction of two aircraft carriers for which there will be no aircraft. The government also suffers from a massive,

unsustainable deficit in other areas of government spending.

The United States attempts to tie other countries to it economically and militarily – witness arms sales to Iraq,

Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and other gulf states. These are to support the US arms industry and can only

contribute to further instability in the Middle East. Britain, whose aircraft industry has all but disappeared, will

cut its order of the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. It would do well to cancel the order for this

long-delayed, troubled aircraft whose price continues to increase far beyond initial estimates in accordance with the

traditions of US arms suppliers.

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In place of the F35 JSF, Britain should evaluate the Russian Sukhoi-designed PAK-FA fighter that would be much

cheaper and is a superior aircraft. It appears that a carrier-based version will be built, which would be useful on

those two new plane-less aircraft carriers. Australian Air Power’s evaluation considers that “The PAK-FA renders

all legacy US fighter aircraft, and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, strategically irrelevant and non-viable

after the PAK-FA achieves IOC (initial operational capacity – i.e. service entry) in 2015” (this website can be

difficult to open but it is worthwhile persisting as this is an excellent professional evaluation of the PAK-FA). It

says that the only viable option is for the US to terminate the JSF programme immediately and further develop the

F-22 raptor (which has subsequently been cancelled by the US). India is building 250 of these air-superiority

aircraft in collaboration with the Russians. Britain would do well to explore means of also obtaining it in gaining

the best fighter in

the world at a

better price than

the JSF.

It is an unhappy

fact that Britain’s

supposed “special

relationship” to

the United States

has been a

disaster.

Anglo-Americaneconomics has

drained Britain of 

cash in America’s

favour while

simultaneously destroying America’s own economy. Participation in and the marketing of America’s wars has

destroyed Britain’s international credibility as well as parasitising its armed services. The trend is obvious. Britain

has no option but to undertake a complete review, not merely of its spending plans but its place in the world and

future for the 21st century. Let us hear no more grandiose plans for “projecting power globally”. Those days were

over many years ago. It is time for Britain to take a rational and mature view of its position. If it continues to

entertain fantasies of world power in concert with the Americans, its present downward trends will continue.

The future for Europe lies in further integration with Russia in course of planning Eurasian cooperation. Europe is

inescapably an integral part of Eurasia and Britain needs to decide whether it wishes to continue on its present

path of failure or join Europe in its positive and exciting rapprochement with Russia. The UK media has it that

Euro-Russian accord became possible following the US’s initiative in undertaking a new START nuclear treaty

with Russia. That is not correct. Europeans are not children; they have understood the US’s recent provocations of 

Russia and their purpose. The United States is now aware that Europe will move toward Russia despite its

provocations and wishes. The new START treaty is the US’s attempt to avoid being left out and to gain advantage.

Unhappily, the United States is merely being opportunistic and doubtless everyone is aware of this.