> Europe’s obsession with Russia is unrequited. Moscow just isn’t interested in the Continent anymore.<p>OK...<p>> In the halls of the Kremlin these days, it’s all about China — and whether or not Moscow can convince Beijing to form an alliance against the West.<p>Yeah, Russia actually <i>is</i> still interested in Europe - as an adversary. To me, the most interesting part is that Russia views Europe as an adversary that Russia can't face alone.<p>> Instead, [Russian] foreign policy experts now talk of how Russia can use China to further its geopolitical goals.<p>That's so <i>cute</i>. Russia thinks it's going to use China? I think China is going to use Russia. (Yes, Russia may get some of what they want out of the dean. But China's the power in the relationship, not Russia.)<p>> If Beijing places its bets on peace and cooperation, the great Chinese adventure will come to an end, and China will have to live in the shadow of the U.S. for another generation — perhaps forever, Karaganov said. Chinese authorities, he argued, have no more than five years to make a decision.<p>This sounds like the little kid telling the big kid to go fight the little kid's rival.<p>Russia is showing its weakness here. It has tried to project an image of inexorable strength to its neighbors on the west, but it shows that it's not confident of that approach working.