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Since "the West pushes Russia into China's arms" is quite popular myth among some Western politicians and pundits, it is worth to remind few things: THREAD 1/7 https://twitter.com/AntoineBondaz/status/1319665977760632833?s=20
1. Russia wasn't "pushed out from Europe". It was given financial-economic support in 90s, admitted to the Council of Europe (in 1996 despite its deficits), offered priviledged partnership w/ NATO (since 1995, enhanced in 1999 & 2002) and w/ the EU (since 2000, enhanced 2005).
2. It was Putin's decision to take authoritarian non-European path of Russia's development (esp since 2004), to refuse participation in EU's Neighbourhood Policy, to decline WTO+ free trade agreement and to start aggressive policy towards individual European states (since 2007).
3. Despite some hopes and EU's 'Partnership for Modernization' programme (2009), during the "Medvedev thaw" (till end 2011) no serious progress has been accomplished in "legal approximation".Putin's concept of GreaterEurope was in fact meant to divide the continent into 2 blocks.
4. In the meantime Russia-China relations has been developing since 1992. Security cooperation started in 1996 & closer military cooperation in 2005,further enhanced in 2012 (before the current serious crisis in Russian-Western relations started in the wake of 
-
war of 2014).
- war of 2014).
5. Current level of China-Russia cooperation (also military) is close to de facto alliance, which is based on authoritarianism (anti-Liberalism) & anti-Westernism (esp against the U.S.). It is not (and won't be) formalised b/c China doesn't need that, willing to retain free hand.
6. In that context Putin's Valdai remarks on China is his standard message for Western elites: do not react for Russia's aggressive policies w/deterrence/containment or we become even closer to China. Putin uses such threats because he knows they resonate well w/ some Westerners.
7.Peculiar Putin's outlook & definition of Russian interests (in fact largely limited to the paramount goal of regime survival) makes impossible for Europe (or broader West) to influence 
relations & decouple Russia fr China. Attempts to do that will benefit the Kremlin only.
relations & decouple Russia fr China. Attempts to do that will benefit the Kremlin only.
