Former Russian President Says West Miscalculated By Refusing to Provide Security Guarantee to Russia
Jose Nino
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On March 22, 2023, former Russian President and current Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev declared that the Collective West miscalculated when it failed to take Russia’s security demands seriously and not provide it with security guarantees.
“I have, you know, an impression that, until a certain moment, they did not believe and did not see the degree of resolve of Russia, its president, the commander-in-chief to do what we have done. And they miscalculated,” Medvedev said in response to reporters and social media users’ questions.
He stressed: “The consequences are much more difficult than they could have been, had they signed the documents with us in December.”
In December 2021, Russia sent its proposals on security guarantees to the United States and NATO, which included an explicit halt of eastward expansion and the return of its military assets to the 1997 borders. Later on, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that Russian authorities only received vapid talking points about national security, with very little in terms of firm commitments to stopping NATO expansion.
The US must recognize that countries across the globe have national interests that often clash with its fanatic universalist vision. Some of these countries, such as Russia, are nuclear-armed powers. The harsh reality is that Russia is not like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya — geopolitical lightweights who will fold over like lawn chairs.
At some point, US foreign policy decision-makers must recognize the limits of their expansionist behavior. If they don’t, a nasty military reversal may be in short order.
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