How 9/11 Impacted Russia's Ties With The West

Twenty five years after the September 11 attacks, the legacy of 9/11 still overshadows geopolitics. The attacks not only led to the death of almost 3,000 people, but they also set the West on a collision course with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Now, a quarter of a century later, the West and Russia stand on opposite sides of the Ukraine war, as well as other issues.But things were not always so dire. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow was interested in improving ties with the West. Post 9/11, Western nations and Russia were united in the fight against terrorism.Vladimir Putin was the first foreign leader to call and offer support to then US President George W. Bush after 9/11, as per iNews. In a televised address, Putin pledged, “In the name of Russia, I want to say to the American people – we are with you.”How Russia's Relationship With The West ChangedRussia was helpful when the US and its allies attacked Afghanistan to depose the Taliban for hosting al-Qaeda, which planned and executed the September 11 attacks. Russia shared crucial information with the US about Afghanistan.Putin did not raise objections to the establishment of US bases in the region either, as per iNews.Why Russia Changed Its StanceThings changed in 2003 after the US invasion of Iraq. Moscow had extensive economic interests in Baghdad.The US attacked Iraq in 2003 on the basis of claims that the country had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that may be used against Western targets. The claims later proved to be false.However, it was too late to change things by then.In 2023, Sir David Manning, a foreign policy adviser to Tony Blair who later became the ambassador to Washington during the Iraq War, said in an interview that Putin “was resentful that Russian interests were apparently being disregarded” in Iraq despite Moscow's cooperative relationship with the US post 9/11.Putin saw the invasion of Iraq as an example that Washington was using the threat of WMD to justify regime change.Tony Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell told iNews in 2023 that Iraq “was really what broke it for us with Putin”.Over the years, the relationship between Russia and the US deteriorated due to several factors. Moscow's narrative about the root causes includes the Iraq War, the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to the Baltic states, Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and US support for the “colour revolutions” in Eurasia, as per a report by think tank Brookings.Decades later, Russia and the West stand on opposite sides, viewing the international arena as a zero-sum game where there is only one winner.