While Turkey proposes mediation between Russia and Ukraine, the European Union continues its diplomatic activities in order to make the EU’s voice heard in the Ukraine crisis on the European border, by pulling the negotiations between the USA and Russia to the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France).
The EU’s current presidency of the European Union and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, could not be effective in the negotiations due to Ukraine’s NATO membership and sanctions against Russia. lobbying for it.
Macron, who wanted to activate the “Normandy format” especially in the event of a stalemate in bilateral negotiations, sent his chief diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, to Washington. The President of France will also go to Berlin next Tuesday to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Then Scholz is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. EU Foreign Ministers will meet on Monday to assess the crisis.
One day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had a preliminary meeting with French Minister Jean Yves le Drian and British Minister James Cleverly. However, there were differences of opinion between the USA and England, and between Germany and Russia regarding the crisis. Despite the Biden administration’s meticulous adherence to the guarantee that “without Europe, no decisions will be made about Europe”, the uncertainty in the negotiations prompted Paris and Berlin to act.
Three differences of opinion between the USA and Europe
Le Monde newspaper reported, citing French diplomatic sources, that although the Americans and Europeans took a common stance in rejecting most of the Russian demands, including the “freezing of NATO enlargement”, they had different approaches in three main areas: The reality of the crisis, the approach to be taken in case of an escalation of the crisis, and lastly, what kind of sanctions will be applied to Russia, which is the most sensitive issue.
Europe does not support the US’s alarming approach that “Russia could attack at any moment”. Speaking to Le Monde, the diplomat of the Elysee Palace said: “We see the same military activity as the USA. We detect that the same trucks, tanks, weapons and personnel are piled up on the border. But from what we see, we cannot deduce that an attack is imminent. Maybe our US and British allies say that the attack is imminent. “They have other intelligence that allows them to say it. But in this case, they have to share it with us.”
A diplomatic source close to President Macron said, “We are afraid of an uncontrolled spark. Moreover, despite our efforts to consult with us, uncertainty continues. If there is a Russian attack on Ukraine, we are ready to assume our responsibilities. President Macron spoke very clearly about this. We don’t yet know what our European allies will do. Will they respond militarily? The White House corrected Joe Biden’s statement that ‘it would be a small attack, in which case the Western response would be measured.’ We need clarity on what the Americans are prepared to do ” said.
Another source of tensions between the US and Europe is sanctions. French media reported that retaliatory measures “against banks or big Russian companies” for Paris were only “conjecture”,
He wrote that there is no agreement on Russia’s exclusion from the Swift system that organizes banking transactions, or on freezing the Nord Stream 2 project, as suggested by the US.
White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki only answered the questions on this subject, “Being united does not mean that allies think alike on everything”.
division in europe
Europeans, whose economic relations with Russia are much greater than that of the USA, are also afraid of paying a heavy price for the economic sanctions to be imposed on this country. Members made this clear at the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brest. Many countries, especially Germany and Poland, do not want to find themselves in a heating and electricity crisis in the middle of winter if Russia cuts off its gas supply.
EU capitals are also divided over Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Le Figaro newspaper clarified this divergence by stating that “Berlin and Paris oppose Ukraine’s entry into NATO because they are afraid of disturbing Russia, who are in favor of dialogue, while the Baltic states and Poland support this.”
“gesture” pressure from Macron and Scholz to Zelenski
Emmanuel Bonne, Macron’s chief diplomatic adviser, went to Washington to clarify all these issues. On Monday, the European Union Foreign Ministers will meet to determine what stance Europe will take in light of the latest developments. Macron will travel to Berlin on Tuesday next week to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Scholz is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin within the week.
Macron and Scholz are pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to drop an “anti-oligarchy” bill, which has been criticized by the Kremlin as a gesture of goodwill that, if Putin agrees, could make it possible to rekindle negotiations.
Paris proposes to renew the Paris Charter signed in 1990, which organized the European order with Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In his speech at the European Parliament, Macron expressed this desire by saying, “What we need to build is a European order based on principles and rules, which we agreed with Russia thirty years ago and where we act with Russia, not without or against Russia.”