In neither the US or the EU, there’s a ‘hunger’ for any ‘holy Russian soil’. Geopolitics is dead.
Being Swedish, I’m well aware of the hatred and struggle between our two countries in the past, but the incentives to the struggle for ‘domination’ of the Baltic region is since long gone.
Today, power and prosperity comes from healthy capitalist enterprise. In this field, the Russians are our close partners and allies and the same goes for all of Europe and the US as well.
Sometimes, uneducated peasants have more of common sense than the rulers of a country. 15 years ago, I saw an old man from the Russian countryside being interviewed on TV. To the question ‘What should Russians do in order to make their economy catch up with the West?’, he responded;
‘Invite the Vikings again’.
Since then, not only Scandinavian/Viking companies like Ericsson, Volvo, ABB (Swiss/Swedish), Nokia and Scania have brought Western technology to Russia, but all sorts of Western and Japanese technology and capital have found their way too. No wonder the Russian economy today is healthier than at the time of the days of Soviet bankruptcy.
Why not put an end to all sissy quarreling and instead build a joint EU-Russian-US missile shield to defend Western Civilization from the maniacs in power in Tehran and Pyongyang?
What about "bombing to the Stone Age" on the pretext of Chechnya, Khodorkovsky or whatever else? Nukes rein in well.
Swedish, I’m well aware of the hatred and struggle between our two countries in the past, but the incentives to the struggle for ‘domination’ of the Baltic region is since long gone.
Did Putin really say anything on Sweden?
No wonder the Russian economy today is healthier than at the time of the days of Soviet bankruptcy
Sorry, but not because of Western investments or opening businesses. There are some, but in country-wide scale they're insignificant.
Why not put an end to all sissy quarreling and instead build a joint EU-Russian-US missile shield to defend Western Civilization from the maniacs in power in Tehran and Pyongyang?
Probably, that's an option, probably no.