Posted 31 мая 2022,, 12:43

Published 31 мая 2022,, 12:43

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

The West is tired: the idea of resuming cooperation with Russia is becoming more popular

The West is tired: the idea of resuming cooperation with Russia is becoming more popular

31 мая 2022, 12:43
Фото: Соцсети
Western politicians are increasingly advocating a reduction in military aid to Ukraine and a cessation of hostilities.

As you know, the adoption of the next, sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions, unlike the first five, caused fierce discussions among Europeans. This once again confirms the obvious and inevitable fact that the West began to get tired of the current situation, tired of the flow of refugees, of rising inflation and prices. The change in Europe's attitude towards the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is commented on by analysts of the popular Nezygar channel:

“Public opinion in Western countries has undergone a significant correction in the past few weeks: primary anti-Russian attitudes are being replaced by requests to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

The current situation is explained primarily by the West's fatigue from confrontation with Russia and the awareness of the colossal scale of economic losses.

If in the countries of Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic States) the level of anti-Russian hysteria is still quite high and the fuse persists, then in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and many others, a more sober approach is fixed at the level of the mainstream of public sentiment, which involves understanding the processes not in the logic of geopolitical confrontation, but in the context of the prospects for the resumption of economic cooperation and the creation of the conditions necessary for this.

Tough anti-Russian rhetoric is still recorded on the part of the current leadership of the United States and Great Britain, however, limitations are obvious here too: Joe Biden's rating before the most important congressional elections (November 2022) dropped to record lows.

The ruling democrats are concerned about the declining level of support in the country: the anti-Russian policy is invariant for them, but the level of its intensity and the actual expression of the declared approaches remain largely uncertain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, against the backdrop of a tough anti-Russian policy, has entered into serious contradictions with the UK establishment, and this factor also has a whole cascade of negative consequences for the current government in the UK.

Experts say that the correction of public sentiment in the West is expected and has further development potential: at the heart of this process are rising prices and inflation, as well as shrinking opportunities for economic growth in Western countries. As a result, a wide range of politicians (from the right to the left) in the West are picking up on these sentiments and are increasingly advocating not only for the cessation of hostilities, but also for the rejection of further militarization of Ukraine.

The need to reach basic agreements in the security sector, avoid further geopolitical confrontation, and in the long term, the resumption of cooperation with Russia are becoming increasingly popular ideas in the West.

It became obvious that further logic of confrontation is fraught with huge losses for the countries of the European Union and increased dependence of the countries of continental Europe on the Anglo-Saxon world. And if Poland or, for example, Latvia, which are strongly anti-Russian, are satisfied, then in the countries that make up the backbone of the European Union (Germany, France, Italy), the mood is diametrically opposed.

In this context, experts talk about the formation of conditional war and peace parties, the conflict between which is the nerve of current politics in the West. In the coming months (the peak will be more likely in July) we will see intensive attempts to shape public opinion in the West in their favor by both sides.

All this is happening against the background of the actual absence, for completely different reasons, of similar requests from society in Ukraine and Russia. Such a request could become a significant extrafactor that can work both in favor of strengthening the conflict and in the direction of its weakening, but so far it has not been constructed, sociologists state.

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