While the crisis in Ukraine is stuck, recent Russian outreach elsewhere in Europe, including Putin’s Greece trip, has been successful at starting a debate over the utility of sanctions. The public in many European countries remains critical of Moscow, but “business and political elites have increased their interest in cooperating with Russia,” according to Stefan Meister, the head of the Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia program at the German Council on Foreign Relations. In addition to Germany and France, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Italy have shown some willingness to consider easing sanctions.
Economically Weakened, Russia Turns to Soft Power to Meddle in Europe
