Quote:
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Originally Posted by Sea Demon
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Catfish
Hello,
what if the EU, with the consent of Poland, got their grips together and told Russia where they can put their missiles ?  Along with the US "missile shield" of course. |
What if I told you you're dreaming. The EU is in no position to tell the Russians anything. Especially without US support. The Russians got you by the proverbial energy crotch. They most certainly can tell you where to go. So can we. The US missile shield may be gone at this point as well. Obama hasn't exactly been supportive of missile defense proposals at all. |
Russia needs the money as much as Europe needs it's energy. Russia can provide some pressure through energy for a given time, but that's it. Now that russias market collapsed and prices for oil and gas are dropping this is true so even more. We Euros know Russia is not an essential threat, and Russia knows we know. What you see on TV is just the big game of politics, deception and pretention, just like in the best days of the cold war. Putin is not at all interested in going into war, he has nothing to win in such a scenario, especially as the ideology legitimating actions on an international level is gone. He also is not stupid, he realizes that. All he wants to serve are Russias minority complexes of having lost their diplomatic heavy weight and importance on the world stage. Putin simply wants to make Russia indispencible when it comes to international diplomacy, including potential conflicts like North Korea or Iran.