The active efforts of Western nations come with certain euphoria after they won the East-West confrontation and are now convinced of their righteous cause. However, "dizziness with success" often leads to excesses. For example, the military "export of democracy" in Iraq, speaking in Soviet terms, was a kind of "liberal Trotskyism" in global democratization. Therefore, fully aware of the upcoming problems in the Iraqi settlement and in the relations with the Arab world, the European nations found it sensible to sacrifice partially their good relations with their main partner to avoid acknowledging such actions as a legal precedent.
The situation with the Ukrainian elections has nothing to do with Ukraine's accession to Euro-Atlantic structures: Romano Prodi, head of the European Commission, recently made it clear that he saw no prospects for Ukraine in the EU. However, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the newly appointed External Affairs Commissioner, made an interesting slip in a speech to European MPs, promising "to prevent such countries as Ukraine from returning under Moscow's influence." The situation in Ukraine has whipped up to the pre-revolutionary point not for the sake of Ukraine itself, but because it was aimed against Russia. This approach requires democracy to be sacrificed for "a super-task."
Instead of having a geographically determined role in the process, Russia is presented as something of a foe, while its strategic interests in the region are interpreted as imperial ambitions.
In practice, the choice between Russia or the West has a negative impact on the former Soviet republics, as it brings their public to the point of split as part of external geopolitical games, and deprives them of the advantages of cooperation in both directions.
