Cold War

Mitko Biljanoski. / Photo: Free Press

Now NATO finally has a reason for its existence, a unity of members like never before, and a fortified rampart at the northern end of the new Iron Curtain, which will be taller and perhaps longer than the one that collapsed decades ago.

- When will you invite us to join NATO? - asked the newly elected president.

"Well, we do not issue invitations to join NATO, but you apply to join," he said.

"Well, we are not among those waiting in line with many countries that are not important," the president replied cunningly, closing both the conversation and the case.

The year was 2000, with Secretary-General George Robertson and President Putin.

Baron Robertson has not been in politics for a long time, Vladimir Vladimirovich is still in the Kremlin today, but neither NATO nor Russia are more what they were at the beginning of the new millennium.

At the time, not jokingly but extremely seriously, many analyzes, reports and documents considered the possibility of Russia becoming a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, built precisely to protect Europe and its values ​​from the communist Eastern bloc after World War II. In the 2000 document "Should Russia Join NATO?", Professor Yuri Davidov described such an opportunity as useful, but also difficult to achieve due to the huge internal problems that Russia is facing after the collapse of the USSR.

Although it must have bothered them, neither Moscow nor Putin then reacted loudly to the fact that NATO had expanded eastward with a number of new countries, including the former Soviet republics. The iron curtain was torn down and there was no material or need to build a new one.

Unlike Russia in 2000, Finland and Sweden in 2022 will skip the "long line with many countries that are not important" (in which, by the way, Macedonia has spent a quarter of a century) but will be expressly admitted to the Alliance. They are just waiting to officially express that intention, after which they would be full members in the summer.

In order not to repeat a mindless "preventive" Russian invasion like the one on Ukraine, NATO and Britain have given an honest word to Finland and Sweden that they will guarantee their security in the transition period.

Not that they need such guarantees. Both Sweden and Finland, while neutral, have powerful armies with modern weapons, efficient mobilization networks, and systems that are already in line with NATO standards. Such military power, geographical location and strong partnership with the North Atlantic Allies should guarantee them security even without membership in the Alliance.

But polls show that Scandinavians are so upset by Putin's crazy unpredictability and aggression that they are determined to sacrifice their most valuable asset - neutrality. Persistent adherence to the military bloc, Sweden for centuries and Finland for decades, has contributed to the development of democratic values, quality of life and well-being. The Nordic countries had the freedom to build their own security, allocating as much as they thought they needed to modernize and upgrade their defense, rather than following tables with defined budget percentages.

With them in the Alliance, Russia will lose a lot, and NATO will gain even more. On the military front, it will have two fully equipped and modernly equipped armies, which should effectively patch the hole in the most vulnerable part of the rampart to the east - around the Baltic and the Arctic, which is strategically important for controlling the northern trade routes. Politically, the accession of Sweden and Finland will reflect the unity of Western countries to oppose Russian aggression, as well as recognition of European values.

But most of all, NATO will get a solid reason for its existence. Formed as an alliance to defend Europe's democratic values ​​from the threat of communist authoritarianism, NATO had a clear mission until the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, NATO embarked on a new expansion, gathering new members under the umbrella of collective security, but without a clearly defined enemy from which to protect Europe. From Russia? From Iran? From China? From Islamist militants? From terrorists? From climate change?

The gap was filled by Putin, who with his reckless decision to invade Ukraine consolidated the ranks of the Russian enemy. Now NATO finally has a reason for its existence, a unity of members like never before, and a fortified rampart at the northern end of the new Iron Curtain, which will be taller and perhaps longer than the one that collapsed decades ago.

It may strengthen Europe's security, but it will not bring prosperity. Geographically, historically and culturally, Russia's place is in Europe, not in the Pacific or in alliance with China, Iran or Venezuela. Tomorrow, after ten or twenty years, Europe will no longer be dependent on Russian energy, and Russia will find new markets.

But the potential for unity, of Europe more powerful with Russia and of Russia more powerful with Europe, of what Putin and Baron Robertson once seriously or jokingly discussed will remain a distant dream, an idea frozen under the heavy cover of a new war, cold as the Finnish winter. .

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