Edward Lucas on the shadow cast by Russia on the rest of the world

Edward Lucas, Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for 'The Economist', warns that "the West must stand up to the Kremlin now. ... Russia plays divide and rule with the West, ruthlessly using our democratic politics and open economies to undermine us. ... Russia has cowed and muzzled the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), supposedly the Continent's main democracy-promoting and election-monitoring body. It has nobbled the Council of Europe, a talking shop that is supposed to be the custodian of human rights. ... At its summit in Bucharest in April, Nato's European members are all set to kowtow to Kremlin pressure and give a cold shoulder to Georgia's bid to move towards membership. The EU can not even summon the willpower to liberalise its internal energy markets, let alone counter the Kremlin's ruthless use of cheap energy deals and lucrative pipelines. Our biggest weakness is money."

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