62086 However, we want to recall what the West German Chancellor Schmidt, who deployed a daring Eastern Policy against the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the Cold War, said.
62087 The most important thing in diplomacy is that it is consistent and possible to calculate.
62088 In other words, one has to adhere to the basic rule that the other party should be able to anticipate the limit of "concessions to be available to the suggested point but no further."
62089 In light of Mr. Schmidt's statement and looking back on the relationship between the West and Russia after the end of the Cold War, the basic principle must have been the "sharing of democratic values."
62090 Russia will accept the value system comparable to that of the West including the respect for basic human rights, recognition of political pluralism, and free economic enterprise based on the market principle as the foundation of the new country.
62091 Contingent on the foregoing, it was agreed that the West would provide assistance to Russia's rebirth.
62092 However, as pointed out before, the Yeltsin administration has deviated from its original idea of promoting democracy and reform to adopt increasingly anti-democratic, iron-fisted closed-door policies.
62093 The Russian invasion of Chechnya trampled on the "peaceful resolution of conflicts" and "respect for the rights of ethnic minorities" advocated in the Charter of Paris of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which should be described as the fundamental law to define international relations on the European continent after the Cold War, and has an element that cannot be dismissed as an internal matter.
62094 Including Japan, the source of assistance from the West to Russia is taxpayers' money.
62095 Continuing support for a government that is busy with its own agenda of clinging to power and reckless military adventures, while paying no attention to democratization and economic reform, is against the will of the people of the supporting nations.
62096 We wonder if the Group of Seven leading industrial nations should meet to discuss afresh their policies toward Russia.
62097 Letting the Yeltsin government get away with it as "no matter what we do, the West has no choice but to continue supporting Russia" will be doing disservice to the Russian people in the end.
62098 Is it too late?
62099 It is not just the disaster victims.
62100 That is what a large segment of the public feel.