Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has penned a substantial commentary on relations between Russia and the West. Titled, “The Kremlin’s Tragic Miscalculation,” Rasmussen writes that Russian leaders have misjudged the West, and misjudged those former Soviet republics who raced to embrace the West.
Rasmussen correctly observes that “A secure and prosperous Central and Eastern Europe benefits everyone – especially Russia. Today, the EU is Russia’s largest foreign market, with a major share of its exports going to the member states that joined in 2004. And Russia’s border with the EU, far from posing a threat, is the most stable and secure of all its frontiers.”
The Secretary General is correct: Appeasement is not the way to bring Russia back into the fold of civilized nations. The West must lead by example; starting by helping Ukraine and other former Soviet satellites to flourish. That will show the Russian people how democracy, and free enterprise, can ensure a more peaceful and prosperous future for themselves.
Editors note: Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark prior to becoming the 12th Secretary General of NATO from 2009 to 2014. Currently he serves as Founder and Chairman of Rasmussen Global.
