Since the turn of the millennium relations between the Russian Federation and the West-both the United States and the European Union-have declined. Although some of the reasons overlap, others are rather distinctive to one or the other relationship and do not always break the same way. Especially during the first presidential term of George W. Bush serious cleavages between the United States and some of its important European allies threatened the very foundations of their long-term ties. Moreover, EU member states themselves are divided a range of issues related to the Russian Federation, as well as relations with the United States. Recent Russian proposals for a Eurasian wide security system have received timid response in the West. All of these numerous differences across the three sets of actors contribute to the complexity of overall relations among them.