Many historic anniversaries are being celebrated this year in a rather grim security environment. They invoke spooky allusions to the past and invite us to draw lessons from them. But not everyone, obviously.

Vladimir Putin has stated that there was nothing wrong with the Nazi-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which was made 75 years ago on 23 August 1939. The Soviet Union simply did not want to go to war, Putin added.

Two tiny details seem to be ignored in this evaluation: the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact merely enslaved eastern Europe (by the Soviet Union, incidentally). Second, the pact led to the second world war. It was not an escape route by the Soviet Union, but instead a cold-blooded calculation to ignore Hitler’s growing appetite for territories.

Leaving history to historians, I would like to draw attention to the western responsibility here. We cannot let such statements go unnoticed because they are part of a bigger narrative, under which the Russian leadership now seeks endorsement for its aggressive and revisionist foreign policy.

Otherwise we, the western democracies, risk becoming part of a similar pact. Not by consciously entering into dirty deals with the aggressor, but by not doing enough to prevent it, and leaving the impression that anything is possible. True, the western response solidified recently, albeit a bit late. However, notions of the need to appease Russia are gaining speed.

The confidence with which Russia is acting now comes partly from our inability to stand by our values and principles. Russia applied similar tactics in the case of Georgia in 2008. We searched for ways to get back to normal quickly, hoping that “normal” was also the intention of the Russian regime. It turned out it was not. So unwillingly, we became part of their plan. History repeats itself now.

The current conflict is not a simple divergence of views, but a major breach of rules by Russia – grabbing pieces of land and keeping them (not to be confused with peacekeeping), exercising aggression against a sovereign country (Ukraine) with full use of military, economic, energy and political means, including brutal info-warfare. Add to this the fuelling of separatism and terrorism, including the supply of weapons.

It is high time to put values ahead of a strategic partnership in our relations with Russia. Time to be more vocal rebuffing lies sold as “alternative truth” by the Russian leadership. Returning to normal is impossible without renewing pledges of basic rules and commitments – maybe renewing the Helsinki accords (the same as those that guided us out of the cold war, but including real enforcement mechanisms this time). It is also time to provide Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia with a clear European perspective – we need them stable and prosperous no less than they need us.

The Russian regime did not abandon its adversarial mentality towards the west – it is well testified in their security doctrine. We must stand firm, showing that we are neither following suit with aggression nor turning a blind eye to their deeds. By being steadfast in our values we can impel Russia to rethink its ambitions; by being mild we can encourage their cruellest actions.