Teltschik, Horst Russisches Roulette

Vom Kalten Krieg zum Kalten Frieden

As Helmut Kohl's foreign policy advisor and long-standing chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Horst Teltschik has a unique overview of international politics over the last few decades. In his book, he shows how the opportunities for a stable international peace order in 1989/90 were squandered and why the current confrontation between NATO and Russia must be defused by a new policy of détente. NATO and Russia find themselves in a spiral of escalation that is often reminiscent of defiant children playing in a sandpit: troops are being deployed to the border, the military is conducting manoeuvres that are clearly directed against the other side, armaments are being built up, and there is no longer any sign of mutual trust. How did it come to this? Horst Teltschik recalls the unexpected opportunities that arose in 1989/90 to create a lasting peace order and explains why nothing came of it. It becomes clear that NATO has more reason for self-criticism and that Russia's actions are not only, but also, reactions to the behaviour of the West. Russia's aggression in recent years should neither be condoned nor defended, but NATO's current policy of confrontation urgently needs to be complemented by a willingness to compromise and offers of negotiation if we do not want to run the risk of sliding from a cold peace into a hot conflict. Reminding us of this lesson from the Cold War and how it was overcome is the great merit of Horst Teltschik's new book.