Despite its discretion, the attempt, reported by Le Monde, failed. The newspaper informs us that Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to take advantage of the May 9 ceremonies in Russia to formalize a “political declaration” with Berlin and Moscow, for a “common European space.” Could this be a project mirroring the European Security Pact proposed by the Russian president on June 5, 2008, whose philosophy and mechanisms would have allowed the Kremlin to have a genuine say in the security decisions of the Old Continent? Is there a desire from the Head of State to outpace the “Reset” policy initiated with Russia by the American cousin? Despite the presidential argument centered on the necessary support for the Federation’s opening, caution is advised. This was, by the way, the tone of the German response. Always pragmatic, Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to Le Monde, hesitated about “the content of the approach and the haste with which it was crafted.”
As with the spectacular initiative from the Élysée towards Syria, of which in reality not much remains—the invitation of Bashar Al-Assad to the official podium on July 14, 2008, to decouple Damascus from Tehran—a question arises: which Russia do we want to be a partner to? While, at the behest of Vladimir Putin, the Russian Constitution was amended in November 2008, barely after a “election” of Medvedev boycotted by the OSCE, it is still unclear who, between the Prime Minister from ex-KGB ranks or the “liberal” from Saint Petersburg, will benefit from the future twelve-year presidential terms permitted by the reform starting from 2012.
This question is not the only one. To be convinced, one only needs to refer to the enlightening reportage by Arte on Tuesday, May 11, about the Russian mafia: representatives of organized crime, “institutionally transformed into business men” under Vladimir Putin, some of whom have established businesses in Cap d’Antibes, recounting rather mockingly their sordid acts of extortion, bloody settling of scores with competitors, endless runs across the world, and generous donations to political officials to evade justice. To the point that an official from Interpol admitted the worst “difficulties in dealing with the issue of major crime in Russia, where the intertwining of state circles and business meant that the Organization never knew if it was encountering legality or illegality.” Certainly, Dmitri Medvedev can be credited with two recent laws, one on police hierarchy and the other on the protection of industrialists in the event of disputes, intended to encourage investors. Provided they one day come into effect, these new legislations are not sufficiently reassuring to the growing number of Russian forty-somethings who wish to emigrate to Western Europe to escape the arbitrariness of their country’s authorities.
While France is preparing, despite American hesitations, to sell a “Mistral”-type command ship to Russia, should we trust the “pacification” of Russian policy undertaken in the Caucasus or the way the Kremlin “respects” the ceasefire clauses in Georgia, promoted through Nicolas Sarkozy’s last-minute mediation? Should we take at face value the new diplomatic doctrine of the Kremlin entitled “Program on the effective and systematic use of foreign policy factors for the long-term development of the Russian Federation”? Despite the wish expressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for “modernization alliances with the United States and Europe,” doubt prevails: how else can we understand, despite the already tense atmosphere in this region of the world, the delivery to Syria of SA 22 surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles, and MiG 29 fighter jets? Russian cooperation with Europe? For what reasons, under these conditions, torpedo “Nabucco,” the only coherent project of the common energy policy of Brussels, by launching the rival “South Stream” pipeline which has just obtained Ankara’s approval in exchange for the contract for a first Russian nuclear power plant in Turkey?
The Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Nice could symbolically testify: the “collaboration” with Moscow boils down to a nasty lawsuit filed by the Russian Orthodox Church, powerfully supported by the Kremlin, to take control of vast real estate holdings. It is thus urgent to wait.
