Why Clarifying Ukaine’s Security Status Is in Russia’s Interest

The place that Russia should occupy in Europe has long been a contentious topic. Faced with a hostile Russia, many in the West who implicitly consider the EU system and liberal democracy to be synonymous with Europe itself assert that Russia is “leaving Europe”. By contrast, others take Russia’s military operation in Ukraine as evidence that Moscow still wants the West to accord it the privileges and status of a great power in the European security order.

Civilizational or normative definitions of Europe aside, one thing is undeniable: Russia remains the most populous and one of the most powerful countries in Europe.
Some institutions in the Euro-Atlantic area may serve to underwrite security against or without Russia, but there is no substitute for building security with Russia – at least to some extent.

As part of this equation, any new European security order will have to confront the task of stabilizing the lengthy border between Russia and NATO – a task which cannot be accomplished without first determining the security status of Ukraine. Given all the talk about security guarantees for Ukraine, one might think that this issue is purely of importance to the West. Yet clarifying Kiev’s place in the continental security order is very much in Russia’s interest as well.