ABSTRACT

Britain's alignment with France and Germany over the issue of European Union (EU) voting rights, and the French and German modification of their European Security Defense Union to accommodate US concerns, has reaffirmed the status quo in United States-European relations at their pre-Iraq war. This chapter aims to address this issue vis-a-vis the Russian national perspective on the 'potential' Old-New Europe divide. Russia's security priorities encompass both domestic and foreign policy concerns. In 2003, the key security interest of Russia was to maintain its internal security. One of Russia's core security priorities is to reform its military. The military is short of modern equipment. The historical paradigm remains important in Russian security calculations. Russia's contribution to transatlantic security is substantial and could be dramatically increased. Russia could provide intelligence, resources for both North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Rapid Reaction Force. The only nation that transatlantic tensions could benefit is Russia.