May 22, 2017

Russia's main target is not the US or NATO but the EU

By William McHenry

“It is not Russian military power that is threatening us, it is Russian political power,” George Kennan once said in a speech to the Army War College in 1947. Similarly, Russian leaders today undoubtedly fear the further expansion of NATO eastward. But they also consider the European Union (EU) to be their primary strategic competitor.

This fact is often overlooked by policymakers on this side of the Atlantic as Washington focuses its attention on Russia’s actions in Syria and Ukraine or its interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. But Washington should do more — in concert with Europe — to protect the EU from Russian meddling, influence and subversion. 

Read the full commentary in The Hill.

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