SHOOTS OF STRATEGIC COOPERATION

Last week the delegates of the Visegrad countries visited the Azov regiment base where they had a meeting with the regiment's command. Worth noting that this is not the first example of successful establishing bridges of cooperation between the Azov movement and official representatives of the East European countries.

Earlier, in mid-November Mazh Stefan Florin Bobonote, the Deputy Military Air and Naval Attache of Romania in Ukraine visited the Yevhen Konovalets Military School of the Azov regiment. We can also note the international inaugural conference of the group to promote the development of the Baltic-Black Sea Union which was held in Kyiv in the beginning of July. Along with representatives of the nationalist movements of Central and Eastern Europe it was attended by military attaches of Lithuania, Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Considering this we can claim that the Azov movement has seriously embarked on work at new direction activity for Ukrainian right movement - establishment of constructive cooperation with countries of the East European region. How important and promising this area is?

The first positive point we should mention answering this question is destruction of banal but very persistent stereotypes. Minds of vast part of Ukrainians has long been overloaded with harmful ressentiment regarding our neighbors - "historical enemies."  At the same time the above initiatives of the nationalists show that the thinking in terms of national interest is more constructive than to cherish ressentiment. 

Indeed, a non-complete national state itself stimulates growing of external ambitions of its neighbors. Nature abhors a vacuum, so the absence of a clear center of power in Ukraine instinctively contributes other states to fill this empty space with their own one.

But it is only Ukraine who's blame in this. Today there is no country (except Russia) among Ukraine's neighbors, who is in state of fundamental antagonism to us. In general, relations between Ukraine and the neighboring states must be based on the complementary principles, of course provided that our country would have a proper geopolitical weight. Azov's initiative can be considered as a therapeutic injection against harmful mental and philosophical prejudices that prevent us to see an extremely important strategy.

It is quite eloquent fact that the official representatives of the region states  show their willingness to cooperate with Ukrainian nationalists.

During the Maidan and in first months after its events we had been observing growing concern in Poland, Hungary and Romania, caused by a "problem" of strengthening the Ukrainian nationalists' positions. However, this concern is based on the stereotype that nationalism cannot exist without chauvinism. The example of Poland is an evidence of how much Moscow is interested in fostering of this stereotype. 

Another key fact to recall is that Ukrainian nationalists, especially the Azov and the Right Sector DUK nationalist volunteer military formations like, have repeatedly been the subject of demonization in the West; enough to remember the hysteria around the Azov regiment, raised in the US parliament by the Democrat Congressman John James Conyers. Clearly, that the behavior of the Romanian, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish attaches contrasts positively against this background. 

As for now, the Azov movement has reached first modest successes in this line of activities, which has significant strategic importance.

It is not only Moscow, who will unlikely be delighted of political success of nation-oriented forces in the Intermarium region countries, but many forces in the West too. Thus the nationalist movements of the Baltic-Black Sea region should deepen cooperation for the sake of a common bright future.

by Igor ZAGREBELNY