Europe, Moscow need mutual trust to break 'cold peace'
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Focus on trust-building
In December 2009, the current NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen vowed to establish a "true strategic partnership" with Russia, but rebuilding political mutual trust between the two major powers in Europe requires more than words and promises.
A feasible starting point might be jointly training Afghan forces and fighting against drug trafficking in Afghanistan. Cooperation on fighting against Somali pirates and conventional arms control may be another option. .
Or they may choose to start from negotiations on energy security. Russia, a giant supplier of gas and oil, and the European countries, major energy consumers, might have been able to find more common ground.
As for NATO expansion, Benner said there were only two possibilities: either the West offers NATO membership to Russia or they stop further expansion. "NATO just cannot continue to enlarge while ruling out membership of only one county, namely Russia."
Is it possible for Russia to become a NATO member? Lavrov even refused to answer the question in Saturday's discussion, dismissing it as "too hypothetical."
So NATO has to think over its next step: continue to provoke Russia by going into "the sensitive zones of special interests" or give up the process which lasted 20 years since the Cold War.
The expanding issue is a "red line" for both sides and the biggest obstacle in the road of rebuilding mutual trust, observers said. This year will see the convening of many international conferences, including the OSCE summit, which might offer a chance for Russia and the rest of Europe to move toward a warmer peace.
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