BROADCASTS.com

b"Is it high time for a\\xa0rapprochement with Putin?\\xa0As the transatlantic alliance flounders and Britain wallows in Brexit psychodrama, Europe can no longer afford to keep Russian relations strained. In fact, a detente is now a\\xa0geopolitical necessity. Containment policies may have made sense under Obama, but with an erratic Trump in the White House, rapidly ceding influence to Putin in the\\xa0Middle East, Russia is now a\\xa0major global actor\\xa0\\u2013 and a vital European partner. The Kremlin has steered the\\xa0Syrian war\\xa0and co-opted Turkey and Iran in the process. Its cooperation is paramount in establishing stability in the region, and in\\xa0quashing ISIS. To maintain sanctions and froideur against Russia threatens our own security \\u2014 as well as crucial infrastructure projects like Nordstream 2. And with an\\xa0ascendant China\\xa0eyeing up its neighbour, it\\u2019s clearly in Europe\\u2019s interest to\\xa0follow Macron\\u2019s lead\\xa0and try to\\xa0pivot Putin back towards the West. Hang on, say Putin\\u2019s critics. Have we forgotten whom we\\u2019re dealing with? This is the Russian leadership that\\xa0annexed the Crimea, shot down a passenger airliner in 2014, and continues to\\xa0breach the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine. Malevolent Russian\\xa0interference\\xa0in the UK referendum and US elections, and support for far-right politicians in Italy and France, has\\xa0destabilised the Western democratic order\\xa0to the favour of divisive and isolationist populists. The Kremlin matches its concerted disinformation campaigns with a track record of\\xa0callous assassinations on European soil,\\xa0from Litvinenko and Skripal to the recent gunning down of a Chechen exile in Berlin. Russia has no interest in European friendship; on the contrary, it repeatedly shows itself intent on\\xa0defying European rule of law\\xa0and splintering European solidarity. What's more, the country\\u2019s\\xa0entrenched corruption\\xa0and\\xa0dire human and LGBTQ rights record\\xa0is fundamentally misaligned with European democratic values. Europe must stand firm, any acquiescence towards Putin will only strengthen the\\xa0global drift towards authoritarianism. Speaking for the motion were Dominique\\xa0Mo\\xefsi, political scientist and founding member of the Institut fran\\xe7ais des relations internationales; and Richard Sakwa,\\xa0Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent. Speaking against the motion were Carole Cadwalladr, an investigative reporter for\\xa0The Guardian\\xa0and\\xa0The Observer; and Bill\\xa0Browder, financier and activist.\\n\\nSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.\\n\\nSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices"