We in the West may badly need Russia’s energy, but if Russia does not want its future to degenerate into Oriental despotism, it must engage with the West in good faith. If Putin genuinely seeks to bolster Russia’s global standing, he must not allow Russians’ sense of humiliation in the years since the Soviet collapse to stand in the way.
可预测性建立在责任之上。我们西方可能急需俄罗斯的能源，但如果俄罗斯不想在未来蜕变为东方式的专制，它就必须满怀诚意与西方接触。如果普京真正想提升俄罗斯的全球地位，他就决不能让俄罗斯人在苏联解体以后的多年里形成的耻辱感成为前进路上的绊脚石。