NATO/PUTIN/RUSSIA/JOE BIDEN: “I think a basic judgment has been reached that in order for Russia, with all its profound structural difficulties that it has, to be able to sustain itself and for this kleptocracy to continue, there’s—it’s much easier if you’re dealing with 28 different nations not in union with one another, not a Western economy that is coordinated…
And so I’m vastly oversimplifying, but I think there’s a basic decision that they cannot compete against a unified West. I think that is Putin’s judgment. And so everything he can do to dismantle the post-World War II liberal world order, including NATO and the EU, I think, is viewed as in their immediate self-interest.”
-Joe Biden, “Foreign Affairs Issue Launch with Former Vice President Joe Biden,” cfr.org, Jan. 23, 2018