The appeal of the EU is not itself a problem. There are, though, two other reasons that may dictate Putin's current actions. The first derives from the 1990s and concerns the West's betrayal - as Russia sees it - of its pledge not to expand Nato to Russia's borders. One view is that this promise, given to then President Gorbachev, lost its validity when he lost power. This is not the view subsequent Russian leaders have taken. Putin, and even his usually mild-mannered prime minister and defence minister, become utterly incensed when they talk about it. They see it as a prelude to humiliation and "encirclement".
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