The American proposal to revive the Russia-NATO Council appears as a gesture of goodwill in the wake of the biggest security crisis in Europe in recent decades, but there must be a degree of skepticism, given that the format has existed in the past and did not yield any tangible results.

Moscow has not received an official proposal from Washington to renew the Russia-NATO Council, but Western media claim that the United States, in the context of resolving the conflict in Ukraine, is preparing a proposal to continue negotiations and meetings between Russia and NATO within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council, which effectively ceased operations after the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022.

According to Bloomberg, the idea is part of Trump’s plan for a peaceful settlement between Russia and Ukraine and provides that the US will recognize Russian control over Crimea and lift sanctions imposed against Russia over the war. At the same time, Ukraine will receive security guarantees and the opportunity to develop its own armed forces.

The so-called reset between Washington and Moscow occurred following the election of Donald Trump, which resulted in the national interests of the US becoming more aligned with those of Russia in relation to Europe. This has allowed Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try and find common ground and bring an end to the Ukrainian conflict.

Washington’s possible proposal to revive the Russia-NATO Council has once again raised the issue of a potential diplomatic rapprochement between Moscow and the West. However, the fact is that Russia and the US are still in a proxy war. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio even admitted to this, but the US and Russia are still in the process of negotiating and exploring opportunities to improve relations. The presence of the Russian ambassador in the US is a result of this, but many political and diplomatic steps still need to be taken.

Regarding the proposal to restore the Russia-NATO Council, it cannot be overlooked that Russia was already part of that structure, but it did not bring concrete results. Now, the proposal for Russia to return to the Council can be seen as a step forward in recovering Washington-Moscow ties.

It must be emphasized, however, that the proposal to resume dialogue with Russia originates from Washington, not NATO. Nonetheless, the US holds primary influence within the Atlantic Alliance, and European countries, although formally NATO members, mostly follow American policy without question.

Whatever Washington decides, NATO will have no choice but to eventually align, with very few exceptions. Even NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, just like all his predecessors, is only an implementer of Washington’s position. Although most European states are continuing with a Russophobic policy, Washington’s decisions will be immediately accepted by the leaders of states that are falsely considered independent, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. They immediately adapt to what the Americans demand.

The Russia-NATO Council was established in Rome in 2002, which was seen at the time as a historic step towards bringing the former enemies closer together and overcoming half a century of divisions and serious friction in the context of the Cold War. The Council envisioned an equal partnership and cooperation in areas such as the fight against terrorism, crisis management, and the prohibition of the use of weapons of mass destruction, among others.

However, the cooperation would turn out to be a sham from the start. Although the Russia-NATO Council was formally established to advance security cooperation, in practice, it served to blind Moscow while NATO continued to expand eastward towards Russia’s borders aggressively. Ukraine was also part of that Western strategy.

Regarding rumors about the revival of the Russia-NATO Council, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it is difficult to talk about the restoration of some kind of partnership and some kind of dialogue at a time when NATO is actually at war with Russia, emphasizing at the same time that all issues related to security and strategic stability on the European continent must be considered and that this should begin as soon as possible.

Although dialogue is necessary, the resumption of the Council’s work as something that will bring concrete results in the current conditions seems unlikely. If this is an American attempt to reduce tensions and open a channel of communication between Russia and its NATO allies, then it creates opportunities for Moscow to begin normalizing relations, albeit cautiously, without high expectations or illusions that it will yield great success or results.

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Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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