PRESS RELEASE
We Need Cooperation with Russia, Not Its Destabilization
March 4, 2016 (EIRNS)—In an article for the Russlandkontrovers journal, Matthias Platzeck, chairman of the German-Russian Forum, wrote that economic and political relations with Russia must not be allowed to deteriorate any further. The sanctions against Russia have hardened the latter’s conduct against the West, causing a “nationalist” surge there, and they have also had destabilizing effects on the Russian economy. But the destabilization of Russia is not something that should be desired, since this is the second-largest nuclear power on Earth, Platzeck warned, calling for the West to see where the larger challenges, globally, lie:
“The refugee crisis which presently keeps Europe breathless, is only the beginning of big changes. In Africa, the collapse of states appears possible, which in addition to the 60 million refugees that are on the road already today, will cause further mass migration waves.”
When past German Chancellor Willy Brandt once warned that the East-West Conflict was nothing compared to the North-South Conflict, he said something that is of even more relevance today, Platzeck continued.
“We are faced with global challenges. We have to deal with these together with Russia. Without, or against Russia, none of these global problems can be solved.
“The Syria crisis puts that drastically before our eyes. The West must accept that Russia evidently has a word to say in this region, and must engage Russian politics on eye-level in the international crisis communication. Syria can become the litmus test for how the problems of the world can be dealt with, and solved together with Russia.”
