Likewise, Ukraine’s prewar economy was so small (midway between Hungary and Slovakia) that it would have been economically irrelevant to the EU but, as we have seen, important in the anti war basis.
The economic size of the Eurasian Economic Union is quite small and I doubt it plays into the planning of anyone but its members and some of its immediate neighbors.
I am from a small country with an economy roughly the size of Russia’s (Australia) and it’s clear that the EU has little interest, positive or negative with trade with Australia. Conversely I have literally never seen mention of the Eurasian version in an Australian newspaper.
If the situation is that you can't invite everybody in, then the plan is defective from the start.
If you crash your own party with some people that don't fit in, you will cause the guests you wanted to have to leave.
Any countries not in the EU don't want to be in the EU. And that's fine.
And looking at what the EU does you don't have to be scared if you don't join. It's a defensive union first and foremost.
Switzerland isn't scared about the EU invading despite largely uncontrolled borders.
This is not how human rights and democracy should look like.
No wonder the US did everything to save the nazi collaborator responsible for the massacre of ~100k Poles in Eastern Galicia from a post-war tribunal justice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Lebed#Post-war_activiti...
That's basically the situation in Russia with Putin after the USSR.
I'm not faulting Russia for their position, just pointing out the thing you are claiming should have happened did indeed happen.
But I will point out that Australia is as rich as Russia yet has not started any wars (except against its own aboriginal population, true of Russia as well) so there is no anti-Australia alliance. Two of the three largest war-mongers in Europe (Germany, France, and until recently UK) have been restrained in a web of agreements and alliances, not seeing them as a threat but as a reassurance. If Russia feels encircled, it should start by looking in the mirror.
STANAG and interoperability standards meant that the Russian gear would have to change, and the Russian weren't willing to give up the control of their national policy, or put their industry at risk.
It was a non-starter for a lot of reasons.
I mean, I haven't seen any rumor of war between the EU and Switzerland, or Turkey, or the United Kingdom, or really any other of its neighbors other than Russia.
Or did I misunderstand what you wrote?
But, the fact is that expansion of EU and EU influence in Ukraine were conductive of that war instead of being a deterrent.
Correct.
> Soviets did, by appending Donetsk Krivorozhye Republic to Ukraine SSR.
No, the Russian Federation did, by launching an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.