Despite the understandable concerns of Finns, Poles, and others in Central and Eastern Europe, the relationship with Russia should be the easier of the two to manage. The West’s relations with Russia since the end of the Cold War have resembled the meeting of two tectonic plates, with one progressively forced beneath the other.
尽管芬兰，波兰以及其他中东欧国家的担心不无道理，但欧洲与俄罗斯的关系相对于欧洲 - 穆斯林关系还算是比较好处理的。自从冷战结束以后，欧俄之间的关系就像地球上两块挨在一起的大陆板块，不时你挤压一下我我挤压一下你。比如 2008 年的格鲁吉亚冲突就凸显出“俄罗斯板块”对“欧洲板块”东进运动的巨大反作用力。