Western standards of trade and investment

In this week's Spectator (3 Jan), Robert Salisbury, reviewing Michael Stuermer's book "Putin and the rise of Russia" says "We have an interest in a stable and peaceful Russia and, even if we cannot hope to impose our own ideas of government on a proud and humiliated nation, we should insist that the rules under which we trade with Russia are transparent and up to Western standards, and the the rules of investment, both outwards and inward, are of an equal rigour".

Amen to the first part of the sentence (though it is the sort of statement of the obvious that doesn't really need saying, and gives us not a clue how to achieve it). But the second part is not only a non sequitur, but it seems to indicate that Mr Salisbury has been living in a cave with no form of outside communication for the past 18 months. Rules of trade and investment "up to Western standards"?

Not that the Russians would ever have been so completely suckered, as our intelligentsia were, by the pin-striped brigade. Nor that Mr Salisbury is wrong that rules (of all kinds) in Russia are more honoured in the breach than in the observance. But they certainly won't be listening now (other than for laughs) to Western exhortations to live up to our standards in trade and investment.

Is this not an example of exactly the limp-wristed European attitude that Mr Salisbury rightly castigates? How are we to force our trading partners to honour any particular rules? We must be prepared to walk away from trades with them. And the Russians believe, probably rightly, that Europe is not ultimately prepared to walk away from trading for their energy, mineral and agricultural resources.

Reputation is hard won and easily lost. The West has a hard slog ahead of it to regain the moral high ground.