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- In the military style: The EU has become the main problem for resolving the conflict in Ukraine
European countries have become the main problem for achieving peace in Ukraine. Against the background of increased contacts between Moscow and Washington on this issue, the EU is embarking on the path of active militarization, the Russian Permanent Mission to the OSCE told Izvestia. Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement, but requires guarantees of compliance with possible agreements. However, while Moscow opposes the deployment of European armed forces on Ukrainian territory, the EU is developing a plan to send its troops under the flag of "peacekeepers." See the Izvestia article about how Brussels reacts to Washington's peace initiatives and what can change European policy.
Europe is obstructing a peaceful settlement in Ukraine
The intensification of contacts between Russia and the United States has obviously moved the issue of the Ukrainian settlement off the ground. Although Washington is still largely trying to take into account the interests of Kiev, whose military assistance has exceeded $100 billion in three years, for the first time since the beginning of its work, the White House is taking into account Russia's point of view. On March 13, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow. He visited the Russian capital after Kiev agreed to a 30-day truce following talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, if Moscow takes this step.
Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
Russia did not accept the proposals of the United States and Ukraine, but did not reject them either. The Russian President has clearly stated that the idea of a truce is correct in itself, and Russia supports it, but there are nuances. In particular, it is unclear how the ceasefire will be respected and how the Ukrainian Armed Forces will take advantage of the suspension of hostilities. Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the ceasefire should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the original causes of the crisis.
The United States positively assessed the negotiations in the Kremlin. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Steve Witkoff positive and productive. The American leader Donald Trump also considered her to be such. He stated that "there is a very good chance" of ending the conflict.
However, against the background of the active negotiation process between Russia, the United States and Ukraine, the EU countries are becoming an obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
— An analysis of the public speeches of the leaders of the European Union and a number of heads of European states suggests that the EU is preventing a normal long-term peaceful settlement. They create serious obstacles because their task is to militarize the European Union," MGIMO Professor Elena Ponomareva told Izvestia.
At the same time, as the United States publicly insists on an early peace, the EU insists on the need to increase arms supplies to Kiev and ensure its strengthened negotiating positions through the implementation of the concept of "peace through force," the Russian permanent mission to the OSCE notes.
— Eurogrands such as France, Germany, the Baltic countries, Poland and the EU delegations themselves are now playing the melody of the military march more and more vividly on the OSCE platform. In fact, this is nothing more than an application for continued military escalation. In addition, the United Kingdom has recently been gradually and explicitly moving into the central part of the theater stage due to muted rhetoric from the United States and assuming the role of a kind of public coordinator of aggressive rhetoric against Moscow, where they play a leading role," Maxim Buyakevich, Russia's deputy representative to the OSCE Permanent Council, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
In the United States, with the transition to power of the Trump administration, there has been a radical change in the priorities of foreign policy philosophy and specific areas of foreign policy, according to Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club.
— There has not been such a revolution in the EU yet — the same people are in power as three years ago. For this reason, Europe is characterized by an inertial policy towards Russia," he said in an interview with Izvestia.
German political scientist Alexander Rahr believes that Europe still considers a possible geopolitical victory over Russia.
—The reasons for the Europeans' behavior are as follows: Ukraine is considered after the two color revolutions as the "prey" of the West, for Europe its acquisition is a geopolitical victory over Russia, which the EU does not want to lose in any case," he told Izvestia. — Militarization helps the ruling liberal elites of the EU stay in power. Governments can run into astronomical debts, go through internal repression and prohibitions, violate democracy, legitimize all this with the needs of defense against "aggressive Russia."
The Ukrainian conflict as a reason for the militarization of the European Union
The Russian permanent Mission to the OSCE also notes the trend towards the militarization of Europe. Diplomats do not rule out that somewhere in the bowels of the EU, the decision to follow the path of forming a giant military camp on the continent has already been taken.
— There is a feeling that the process of militarization is now beginning to be presented in the European information space as a boon, as something that will become an economic driver, trigger domestic demand and provide the EU with jobs, — said Maxim Buyakevich.
In Europe, they are not just rejecting Washington's initiatives on Ukraine, but are seriously talking about military escalation against Russia. The EU embarked on militarization in early March, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on March 4 that she had proposed to EU leaders an 800 billion euro rearmament plan, and on March 7, the EU summit agreed on a plan to provide the community with the possibility of autonomous circular defense.
The locomotives of the European Union, Germany and France— agree that Europe should adopt a rearmament plan. The difference in their positions lies only in the details of exactly how to do it. According to The Financial Times, the key dispute is caused by the provision of loans to EU countries for € 150 billion for the purchase of air defense systems, missiles, artillery and drones. Berlin insists that the purchases include products from manufacturers from the UK, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Emmanuel Macron also said that the EU should not spend money on "non-European kits" and suggested that the bloc countries review orders in favor of domestic manufacturers.
— Take a look at the recent ranking compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), "Trends in International Arms Shipments – 2024". According to him, France ranks second after the United States in global arms exports — 9.6%. And here, of course, the story of rearmament, and even for such a huge amount, is a story related to money," Alexander Asafov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. — These are investments in the military-industrial complex, that is, investments in our own economy. This is an opportunity to produce and sell, using the Ukrainian conflict as an excuse. If we recall the American way out of the Great Depression, something like the same thing happened there. That is why Macron is interested in continuing the conflict "to the last Ukrainian."
Poland is also striving to strengthen its military position. A few days ago, President Andrzej Duda called on Washington to mark nuclear weapons on his country's territory, which would allegedly become a deterrent "against possible Russian aggression in the future."
The issue of sending peacekeepers
The issue of sending peacekeepers, whose presence Kiev justifies with security guarantees, remains open in the context of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. According to media reports, the EU is discussing the issue of sending about 30 thousand military personnel after the end of hostilities in the region.
On March 15, following an online meeting, EU representatives agreed to begin discussing the operational details of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. According to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a number of European states have made "specific commitments" to participate in the mission of the "peacekeeping forces" in Ukraine. Starmer did not give any other details, but it is known that the discussion of the relevant plan will take place on March 20 in London.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
At the same time, the issue of sending a monitoring mission from the OSCE is not currently being publicly discussed, the Russian permanent mission notes. As for the US peacekeeping contingent, back in late February, Donald Trump made it clear that he saw no point in sending American soldiers, and also stressed that both sides should agree with the deployment of any peacekeepers.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not ready to agree to the deployment of foreign military personnel to maintain peace. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the presence of a Western military contingent in Ukraine would mean a continuation of the conflict. Responding to questions from American bloggers Mario Naufalu, Larry Johnson and Andrew Napolitano, the minister said that Moscow would never accept the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, as it would be a threat to Russia.
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