SS: In an op-ed written for The Guardian, Germany’s foreign minister admits that her country failed to heed warnings about the threats from an autocratic Russia. She also talks about the failure of “chequebook diplomacy”, which was based on the hope that economic interaction would lead Russia to a democratic path. However, she notes, Putin’s Russia will remain a threat to peace and security in the continent for the foreseeable future. And security must be organised ‘against’ Putin’s Russia, and not ‘with’ it.