This week's spy scandal will open up a temporary rift across the Atlantic. But it is unlikely to undermine one of the most important trends in contemporary international relations: the combination of the west scaling back its ambitions in the former Soviet Union with Russia's growing realisation that it needs a new partnership with its former US and European rivals. This rapprochement is more solid than previous attempts because it is based not on dreams of friendship but on realistic calculations of national interests – interests that neither side is likely to risk for a return to the cold war rivalries of old.
上周的间谍丑闻将让大西洋两岸出现暂时的分歧。但这不太可能破坏当代国际关系的最重要趋势之一：西方收敛了其在前苏联地区的野心，同时俄罗斯越来越意识到，自己需要与昔日的美欧竞争对手建立一种新型合作伙伴关系。这种友好关系的恢复要比之前的尝试更为坚实，因为这并不基于友谊的美梦，而是基于对国家利益的现实盘算，双方都不太可能回到过去冷战时期的对立状态，使这些利益面临风险。