VIDEO & ARTICLE: The Kremlin’s Spin, NATO’s Reality

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – The Daily Vertical: Brian Whitmore – April 20, 2016)

The Kremlin and its surrogates are spinning today’s meeting of the NATO-Russia Council as the end of Moscow’s isolation.

In Brussels, it is viewed as a technical meeting to put safeguards in place to prevent an accidental conflict from breaking out amid rising tensions.

The Kremlin says reviving the NATO-Russia Council after nearly two years is proof that a chastened West has realized the error of its ways and is now ready to engage Moscow.

In Western capitals, the meeting is largely viewed as a necessary evil and an opportunity to call out Russia for the provocative actions of its warplanes in international airspace — and their continued violations of NATO airspace.

The Kremlin is presenting the resurrection of the NATO-Russia Council as a sign that the Ukraine crisis has changed the rules of international politics in Moscow’s favor.

NATO officials see it as an opportunity to reprimand Russia for its continued efforts to destabilize Ukraine, for its failure to abide by the Minsk cease-fire agreement — and to reinforce the message that this behavior has costs and consequences.

Today’s meeting among NATO and Russian envoys will again illustrate that Moscow and the West live in completely different cognitive realities.

The Kremlin’s propaganda machine will spin it as a major victory for a resurgent Russia.

But optics aside, it will be nothing of the sort.

Article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – ©2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Article also appeared at rferl.org/content/daily-vertical-kremlin-spin-nato-reality-transcript/27686066.html