But when President Biden arrived on his farewell visit to Europe, he had a full 19 hours in Berlin to communicate with his allies: the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, but Zelensky was never invited.
Photo: REUTERS.
“Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” – this principle, as the main one for discussing the Ukrainian crisis, was repeated by the West for a long time and constantly. When Moscow rightly declared that the search for a peaceful solution should be sought with Washington and not kyiv, there was great indignation in European capitals: “This is impossible! Never about Ukraine without Zelensky!” But when President Biden arrived on his farewell visit to Europe, he had a full 19 hours in Berlin to communicate with his allies: the leaders of Germany, France and Britain, but Zelensky was never invited. And one of the main topics of the negotiations, as the Germans reported, was the possibility of providing additional assistance to kyiv and Zelensky’s “victory plan.” So is it still possible to talk about Ukraine without it?
It is true that Kirby, a representative of the US administration, explaining to journalists the agenda of Biden’s visit to Berlin, ritually confirmed that Washington still does not intend to discuss “the future of Ukraine without Ukraine” with foreign leaders. How to understand this? Does this country have no future? Or is Zelensky no longer suitable as a participant in such negotiations? After all, if we imagine that he was at the same table with Biden, Scholz, Macron and Starmer, what could he say other than the word “give”?
Since reports on the results of Biden’s negotiations with European leaders on the Ukrainian issue do not occupy the front pages of the American press, we can conclude that they did not cause any sensation. And what can you expect from a meeting of “outgoing ducks”? That is, as Politico recalled, it is about Biden and Scholz, who is retiring and unlikely to become chancellor next year. And Macron, after the disastrous summer elections for him, became a “lame rooster.”
The allies once again repeated that they would not abandon kyiv to the mercy of fate, that they would provide it with financial and military support, and that they would also provide humanitarian assistance, especially on the eve of winter, which is expected to arrive. hard for Ukrainians. As for the “victory plan,” “it continues to be studied.” There is also no progress regarding permission to deeply attack Russia with NATO weapons. The United States and Germany are in no rush to give consent to kyiv, clearly taking into account Moscow’s warning that this would make NATO a direct participant in the conflict and entail retaliatory strikes. Well, Ukraine’s membership in the Western military alliance, of course it is. But only after the conflict, as Kirby himself clarified in the briefing.
With support “for as long as necessary”, not everything is easy either. According to the Kiel Institute of World Economy, military aid to kyiv could be cut by half next year. Paris has already reported that, due to budget deficit problems, it will not be possible to allocate the promised €3 billion to kyiv. And long before the latest meeting, Berlin announced that its aid to Ukraine next year would be cut in half. No, this does not mean that the Western “tap” is closed to Kyiv. But they promise to give money mainly on credit: $50 billion with a guarantee in the form of income from frozen Russian assets, that is, stolen by the West.
Zelensky was promised to discuss the “Victory Plan” next month in a virtual meeting in Ramstein format. A meeting that was to be held at the highest level was canceled this month: Biden, citing the hurricanes that hit the United States, did not attend, thus setting an example for other Western leaders. And in virtual meetings, as a rule, fateful decisions are not made.
At a meeting in Berlin, Biden highlighted in his speech that Germany is one of the United States’ closest and most important allies. At the same time, he said that Germany had to go through a “turning point in history” to be able to act jointly in defense of Ukraine, and this decision came at a “high price.” Let’s try to guess what it is. Biden should have confirmed that, after the start of the New World Order, Berlin was hesitant to enter into open conflict with Moscow. But after the Nord Streams were undermined, he had nowhere to retreat. Here is the “high price”: without cheap Russian energy, the German economy is in recession for the second year. But Berlin is Washington’s best friend.
Of course, Western leaders could not ignore the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Participants at the meeting warmly welcomed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, considered the mastermind of the attack on Israel a year ago. Biden said the killing of the Palestinian was “a good day for Israel, for the United States and for the world.” The main obstacle to ceasefire negotiations has already been removed. Scholz intervened: “a concrete perspective now opens” for the release of the hostages in Gaza. Starmer supported his colleagues. This is how it turns out: no person, no problem. Now we can talk about peace.
You will shudder involuntarily if you transfer this situation to the conflict in Ukraine. Will the West not care if we eliminate those who hinder the search for peace there too? The only question is who to define as an “obstacle to negotiations”…
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