The Spiegel interviews Sergey Karaganov, Putin’s foreign policy advisor

SPIEGEL: Sergey Alexandrovich, NATO is boosting its presence in Eastern Europe in reaction to recent Russian advances. Western politicians have warned that the two sides could stumble into a situation that might result in war. Are such warnings excessive? Karaganov: I was already speaking of a prewar situation eight years ago. SPIEGEL: When the war in Georgia broke out. Karaganov: Even then, trust between the great powers was trending toward