Some reflections on the future of Russia-EU relations from Nikolas Gvosdev. As Gvosdev notes, France has been a strong advocate for harmonizing this relationship, but the attitude here among strategic thinkers seems to be that Russia is unlikely to be more than an important but occasional tactical partner for the near future. Neither friend nor enemy, a partner at times, and a problem at others. Of course, the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, depending on what it institutionalizes, could change that. But I get the feeling that the French view of Russia is more lukewarm than the official diplomatic posture might indicate.
