PI, you said in response to me;
I really do hope that America and Russia can have a better relationship in future. The problem is that competition for influence on the European continent which leads to the western borderlands of Russia will mean there can never be good will.
I think that the general trend will force the Two nations to work together, as the age-old Islamic conquest of the old Roman classical world space is completed, for a short time.
The years after 1991 saw Moscow on the retreat and continued expansion of NATO up till its current position, right on Russia's doorstep. There was never really an accommodation of the new post-Soviet Russia and this is something that needs to be managed if there is ever to be peace.
Agreed.
The problem in my estimation is that the Russians do definitely have an imperial agenda of their own.
I think an effort to recover the ground lost almost a century ago, both metaphorically and literally, is a reasonable one in many respects.
How can we reconcile the imperial ambitions of Russia with European concerns about security and with America's desire to be a power in Europe and Asia?
Takfiri Islam seems to be a quite sufficient threat, while the 'pivot to Asia' of the United States is a very real one. Europe, in going to war in 1914, chose either Islam or Moscovy whether they realized it or not.
Is respecting the Russian sphere of influence in Europe even desirable for the West?
Sure, as it need not be a 'win-lose' proposition.
All of these questions seem extremely complicated especially depending on which perspective you are speaking from. An American will view it differently to a German and an Englishman will of course have his own opinions different to both. As far as I am aware there is a school of thought within German intellectual circles which proposes that Berlin should ditch the United States and make an alliance with Russia.
A wise decision, as America shifts it's emphasis to the Eastern world as was inevitable as could be as far back as 1848.
My fundamental question is: Is it in our interests to respect the Russian sphere of influence (come to an agreement with them) , or should we actively seek to expand our own even into the Russian sphere?
I say; 'come to an agreement', because we'll find-here in the West-that much of what we see as strange and hateful in Russia is our original and real collective selves.
In any case schools in Anglosphere countries should definitely be teaching their students the Russian language alongside the standard French, German or Spanish options. It will help us to understand this country more.
It's never too late to try learning, even as a 45 year old American, so I'm making that effort too.