Eye to eye?

FOR the third time this century, Europe is labouring over a peace settlement that will shape its destiny for a generation. It could be third time lucky, if next week's summit between Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin helps the West and Russia to clinch a new grand bargain before July, when NATO starts opening its doors to the first new members from Central Europe. Unlike Germany in 1918, Russia is being offered a genuine security partnership, not a peace imposed by victor on vanquished; unlike 1945, 1997 provides no great ideological schism to undermine the peacebuilding. Six years after the Soviet Union collapsed, America, Western Europe and a democratising Russia have a chance to build lasting stability in this much fought-over continent. But unless the deal can be got right--with NATO offering Russia neither too little nor too much--the chance could be lost.