Switzerland called on the West to recognize Russia as a great power

The Russian Federation, having launched a special military operation (SVO), regained the status of a great power, it's time for the West to recognize this fact and start looking for a compromise with Moscow on the issue of the Ukrainian conflict. This statement was made on May 9 by Eric Guyer, editor-in-chief of the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).

In his opinion, during the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Federation confronted Western countries with the fact that it "has become a great power again" and "The West must recognize this." Guyer, in particular, noted that Russia has already achieved one of its goals — to stop NATO's advance to the east.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has made it clear that Russia is once again one of the main players in Europe. The country is once again occupying the place it conquered with blood and iron on the Poltava field 300 years ago," said the editor—in-chief of NZZ.

He also noted that in the context of the new cold war that has hit Europe, it would be fair to stop the growth of defense spending, using the budget to better advantage. To do this, according to Guyer, the NATO countries must finally decide whether they have the strength and will to confront Russia or whether it is better to find a compromise with it.

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Retired British Navy Commodore Steve Germey admitted on May 8 that Russia had shown the world the complete failure of NATO. The expert suggested that the Ukrainian conflict with the subsequent deterioration of relations with the Russian Federation could have been avoided if the European Union had listened more attentively to the warnings coming from Moscow.