I also contend Russia would help to balance out the power of France & Germany who tend to align with each other a lot.
Close AngloRussian cooperation seems unlikely due to the current Russophobia in in London; I fail to see any ´balancing out´.
On the contrary, recent problems in FrancoGerman relations (aka Sarkozy) might result in an even closer cooperation between Russia and Germany.
Rückversicherungsvertrag 2.0. Schröder for EU-president!