Originally Posted by
dead_pan
How many years do we reckon Vlad has left in power? Maybe if we can string things along like this for a decade or so Russia may not be such a problem, maybe even a willing partner.
Afaik, Putin is 69, so probably still good for the rest of this decade. He is probably as good as we can expect, a skillful politician and a smart player in international affairs.
My sense is that it will be difficult to find a more willing partner. Yeltsin was very accommodating, all it got Russia was NATO moving east, contrary to what Russia thought had been agreed.
Meanwhile, the ongoing sanctions simply force Russia to embrace China, despite the visceral Russian concern about again getting dominated by modern day Tatars.
How this helps the US and Europe to better counterbalance China is unclear.