Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Ian Proud: Economic Reset with Russia to Save Europe
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Feb 15, 2026 Ian Proud, former British diplomat and economic counsellor in Moscow, and host of The Peacemonger. He argues Europe needs an economic reset with Russia to avoid decline. They discuss risks of EU enlargement without Russia talks, treaty-based security commitments beyond a ceasefire, reopening trade and energy links, and why European diplomacy has been slow to re-engage.
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Economic Self-Harm From Cutting Russian Energy
- Europe risks long-term economic decline by cutting ties to cheap Russian energy and adopting more expensive sources.
- Ian Proud warns that severing economic links accelerates factory closures and cost-of-living crises across Europe.
EU Membership Could Be NATO‑Light
- Normalizing Ukraine into EU without addressing Russia risks importing an antagonistic Ukraine into European structures.
- Proud argues this could militarize Europe and store up a worse conflict with Russia later.
Demand A Broad Treaty, Not Tacit Assurances
- Insist on a broad, treaty‑based pan‑European security agreement that includes the EU and Russia, not just NATO assurances.
- Ian Proud advises Putin to stick to hardline demands for binding commitments before settling the war.