Since the onset of the "Ukrainian crisis", Poland has been one of the Western countries defending the most drastic line against Moscow. Indeed, the Polish government is not ready to accept any compromise nor to loosen economic sanctions against Russia — even if they are damaging its own national economy — as long as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine are not restored. The Polish president, Mr Andrzej Duda, even suggested on August 15, 2015, that the government of Poland be part of the Minsk II negotiations alongside Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, arguing that Poland was one of the strongest European countries and had a common border with Ukraine. But this proposal was not endorsed by the Normandy format.

Russia considers the expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War as a threat to her political and economical strengths. Indeed, in the view of many Russians, the maintaining of NATO in a post-Cold War era revealed the West's continued suspicion towards Russia: Russia was condemnable, for her political system differed from the Western ideal of democracy. Still, the West developed diplomatic relations with Russia, her being an unavoidable partner regarding the Middle East as well as for European gas supply, and in order to eventually face a growing China.