“In Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region, we understand Russia as a threat, but it goes far beyond the region of Ukraine and the threats related to the situation in Ukraine. What Russia has done to Ukraine is not only a matter of regional and European impact,” said Konecký.
He pointed out that this will not change immediately: “It is completely consensually accepted that Russia is a threat that will be with us in Europe for a very long time. It is a threat that we must be able to deal with in a comprehensive way. Ukraine’s victory is a key parameter for us to be able to successfully deal with the threat. Unfortunately, it is not the only ingredient we need to achieve this success.”
However, according to him, Ukraine’s victory is currently a priority: “The way the situation in Ukraine looks at the moment, it is really crucial that Ukraine gets everything it needs. It is part of the broader framework of our success, which must consist in ensuring the safety of the citizens of the Czech Republic and Europe, and by extension the civilized world.” He therefore mentioned the importance of the Czech ammunition initiative.
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The war in Ukraine
A futile effort to cooperate with Russia
Konecký pointed out that it was not the West whose actions would have led to the current situation: “We tried to find a solution that also consisted in cooperation with Russia. A number of activities took place, but Russia’s armed aggression against the sovereign territory of Ukraine began in 2014 and continued with further progress in February 2022.”
Regarding Russia’s claim that it was promised that NATO would not expand further, Konecký stated: “At the annual security conference at the Castle, Bill Clinton returned to the decision on the expansion of NATO, to the decision that the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary would be in the first wave and more waves will follow. He emphasized that the decision to enlarge required political courage and that he tried very intensively to communicate with Russia, to cooperate with it and to get Russia into a cooperative mode so that it does not see it as a threat, but on the contrary as an opportunity. He stated that due to what is happening in Ukraine, his efforts have failed.”
Even after the first enlargement, however, the cooperation between Russia and NATO deepened, in 2002 the NATO-Russia Council was established, where Russia was taken as an equal partner, before which there were no secrets. “The debate was very free indeed. I remember those debates, because at that time I worked at the NATO permanent delegation,” said Konecký, who was surprised by the openness in his approach to Russia at the time.
He mentioned that the Russian representative in NATO was becoming more and more competent.
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Homemade
Russia is really afraid of NATO
“In 2007, a meeting of the NATO – Russia Council took place at the ambassadorial level in Moscow. There, Vladimir Putin met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Putin said then, and it can be traced back, that the era of confrontation with the alliance ended and the era of cooperation began,” Konecký recalled.
“At the same time, there were documents, such as the Russian military strategy, which said that the expansion of NATO was at the level of a military threat. I’m paraphrasing. I don’t have the exact quote. Even then, the dichotomy was clear. Russia perceives the world of the Alliance as one of those dangers, of those threats, which seeks to destroy the Russian Federation,” he added.
According to Konecki, Russia is really afraid of NATO and sees it as the main enemy: “I am convinced of that. In the way Russia perceives the world, it has decided that the structure represented by the Alliance is negative. It negatively affects the Russian world. If you look at it from a philosophical basis, then the Russians are right in this, if they consider themselves an undemocratic country that does not stand on the same value principles that the North Atlantic Alliance is based on. If Russia feels threatened by the transfer of the values that the alliance represents to its territory, then of course it is a problem – especially for us, because it means that they do not accept these values.”
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Europe
NATO was never a threat
At the same time, according to him, Russia knows well that the alliance does not pose a military threat to it. There is still some misunderstanding of what it means to say that NATO is a defense alliance, which you will find in a number of documents and we often talk about it. It has far-reaching implications for the armed forces, for military planning, for the ability of what the alliance is actually able to do in defense of its own territory,” he said on the podcast guest.
According to him, defensive alliances, including military ones, have different qualities, including military ones, than offensive alliances would have to have. “The Russians know this because they understand defense strategies and military planning. Nevertheless, they say that the alliance is ready to destroy Russia, even though it is practically impossible as the alliance is set up, because the alliance does not have the tools for this,” explained Konecký.
According to him, the Alliance has the tools to defend our security and the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. “This really needs to be repeated, it seems like a banality, but it is basic. If you see any armed forces, you automatically assume that they are capable of attacking and capable of achieving virtually anything, but anyone who has done a bit of defense planning knows that there is a huge difference between defense and attack. The alliance, being defensive, has never posed any threat to Russia, unless Russia considers the spread of democracy, human rights and the rule of law to be a threat.”
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Homemade
Freezing the situation in Ukraine is dangerous
Since the basis of the elimination of the Russian threat is the victory of Ukraine, Konecký rejects the plan that the fighting on the front line would end, Crimea and Donbas would be left to Russia, and the rest of Ukraine would be immediately accepted into NATO: “Of course, there are more possible solutions to the situation in Ukraine. Donald Trump mentioned this option, and I would caution against evaluating that this is the option that Trump, if elected, will reach for.”
At the same time, he explained why this option is not good: “That would not be a situation that would be able to guarantee our security. He would de facto freeze the situation without solving it. On the other side, there would still be Russia, which would be unlimited.” He added that, in addition, all existing members must agree to accept any new member.
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Europe
An irregular podcast that offers a variety of perspectives on the war conflict in Ukraine and other current conflicts. You can also listen to the debates of the editors of the Novinky.cz foreign section and selected experts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or the Podcasty.cz platform.
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