In a lengthy interview with Berliner Zeitung, former EU Commission member for Germany and still a gray eminence of the 1970s pro-detente and dialogue current, Guenter Verheugen, called for a revival of the 1990’s concept of a common area from Lisbon to Vladivostok as the policy that should guide Europe. For a short period, this also had the support of the United States, he said, but the “Americans developed a security doctrine in the 1990s that said: Nowhere in the world can there be a power stronger than us; we want to be number one everywhere. Russia’s re-emergence as a global rival had to be prevented. In addition, people in Washington are very suspicious when Germans and Russians communicate.”
Berliner Zeitung asks: “During the Yeltsin era, the Americans were closer to the Russians than the Germans. There was a time when the Americans were very supportive of Russia … “
Verheugen: .".. and exploited! In the wild 90s, the Russians were weak. Their economy was completely unregulated. Predatory capitalism prevailed. During that time, the Russian people were robbed, by Western fortune seekers, criminals, and by the aspiring oligarchs.”
