Polish FM: Europe should accept greater risk to stand up to Russia

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski has argued that Europe has spent too long allowing fears of Russian escalation to shape its response to the Kremlin, saying Western governments should not seek to “protect Russia from itself”.

Writing in The Economist, Sikorski said concerns that increased pressure could trigger Russia’s collapse, further escalation or even nuclear action had repeatedly been used to justify accommodating Moscow’s demands.

He pointed to decades of Western efforts to integrate Russia into the international system following the collapse of the Soviet Union, including Moscow’s invitation to the G7, the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act and closer relations with the European Union.

“We all tried. And we were all turned down,” Sikorski wrote.

He said Russia was again using threats of escalation to influence Western policy, citing recent warnings against British military assistance to Ukraine and reported US efforts to warn Moscow against attacking a NATO member.

According to Sikorski, arguments that Russia could fragment under sustained pressure are overstated. He said the country’s highly centralised political, economic and administrative system makes its regions heavily dependent on Moscow, while historical and demographic factors make a breakup less likely.

He also characterised Russia’s use of drones, cyber-attacks, sabotage, GPS interference and information warfare as deliberate tests of Western resolve.

Sikorski said Europe should therefore resist premature negotiations with Moscow, arguing that dialogue before Russia’s strategic position has weakened sufficiently could strengthen the Kremlin, undermine support for Ukraine and deepen divisions among Western democracies.

“Europe must accept greater risk in the short term to avoid far more serious dangers in the future,” he wrote, arguing that the goal should be to demonstrate that escalation would not achieve Russia’s objectives.

He concluded that European leaders’ responsibility was to protect their populations from Russian threats rather than to shield Russia from the consequences of its own actions.

By Aghakazim Guliyev