A recent article in The Spectator by the British former diplomat Nigel Gould-Davies raises an important question about the relationship between the European Union and Russia’s democratic opposition. 

In essence, he argues that the interests of Russia’s opposition in exile are fundamentally at odds with Europe’s security. I believe the opposite is true. More than that, I would argue that Europe’s long-term security is impossible without the emergence of a democratic Russia.

It is right to describe the Kremlin’s actions as a global threat to European security. President Vladimir Putin is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine while at the same time conducting a hybrid war against Western democracies through propaganda, cyberattacks, espionage and sabotage.

Europe therefore has every right — indeed, every obligation — to defend itself. Military support for Ukraine, sanctions, counterintelligence measures and migration controls are all legitimate components of a sound security policy. There is no point in disputing that. The real question, however, is which strategy will actually make Europe safer.

The logic of Gould-Davies’s article suggests that Europe should pursue its security primarily through tighter restrictions, further isolating Russia and erecting ever higher barriers to migration.

I would propose a different approach — one that is no less consistent, but more pragmatic and more far-sighted.

More than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe can no longer afford to be as open or as welcoming towards Russia as it once was. Sanctions targeting Putin’s war machine and his........

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