To remind, President Donald Trump has called his Ukrainian colleague Vladimir Zelensky to the US to tell him what kind of peace agreement has to be signed, after the Russia-US summit in Alaska, USA. And then seven European leaders invited themselves to that meeting, to hold Zelensky’s hand and, possibly, to prevent him from agreeing to Trump’s initiative, accepted by Moscow.
Nobody asked them there, since Europe (and the previous American administration) was to blame for imposing war on Russia, not to mention Ukraine. And it was that Europe, left without its American prop-up, that has long been obstructing not only Russian, but – recently - even American attempts to achieve peace. So, nobody wanted them at that meeting in the White House. Still, they came along like seven dwarves, they burst into negotiations – and, according to preliminary information, they failed to impose their will on the US and, hence, failed to block the road to peace (so far).
Now is the time for everyone in the world to reassess the future global role of Europe, concludes Timophei Bordachev, the Valdai discussion club program director, in his immediate reaction to the summit in Washington.
To note: the real course of negotiations is naturally been kept secret, so Bordachev or anyone is not saying what kind of peace agreement is in sight. But that European art of making yourself irrelevant has been demonstrated again, and that seems to be the main topic of Russian experts’ comments.
India is viewing Europe as a partner in investments and technologies, goes on Bordachev. China still thinks that Europe may be neutral in Chinese showdown with the Americans. But what we have just seen in the White House looked like a European oath of allegiance to American interests and a complete rejection of own previous positions, he concludes.
To note, Timophei Bordachev began his career in Russian Academy’s Institute of Europe in Moscow, so he surely knows what he talks about.
Some experts are simply dripping poison. Says Ms. Elena Karaeva, this agency’s columnist: what had been planned in the White House was not a scandal. The plan was about flogging. (She wrote her column a day before the meeting and, at the looks of it, has predicted everything right).
The reason for that punishment, she goes on, is that wild, multi-layered lying on global scale. The European-Ukrainian gang has been lying to people for about a decade, but you cannot conceal the truth anymore. The lie was, Ukraine cannot lose to Russia. The truth is, Ukraine has lost long ago, and Donald Trump knows is quite well.
All right, the lady is certainly right, so they have lost long ago. Why, then, these Europeans have been obstinately refusing to accept the obvious and went on pitting Ukraine against Russia on and on? There are many answers to that. And then, there is yet another question, being actively discussed by all kind of Russian writers and thinkers, namely – how come Europe has been murdering its own economy and political stability in this stand-off with Russia and not only Russia? The current governments are barely holding their ground now, fearing new elections, economy is in ruins.
And there is one more question: why do these Europeans hate the very idea of Russo-American normalization of any kind?
Even the prospect of normal relations between Washington and Moscow is driving European leaders into panic, says Professor Oleg Barabanov of the Russian Academy. Emotions, he says, is the only lever Europe is applying to its relations with the US, trying to scare Trump with an idea that Moscow is a threat to Mother America. But that does not work anymore. And the worse prospect for Europe is being left on its own, confronting Russia on and on.
Europe will simply become isolated and marginalized in the world, if Moscow and Washington start cooperating, agrees Dmitry Suslov of the Moscow Higher School of Economy. His idea is, if and when there is America-brokered peace, the European voters will start asking bad questions. Like, why did Europe refuse Russia’s cheap supplies of gas, that was the base for European industry’s efficiency? Why did Europe tolerate that huge increase in energy’s prices, the ensuing deindustrialization, not to mention the oppressive political climate? They lost heavily, how about responsibility for that loss?
And now imagine, goes on Suslov, the peace deal and the general global economic normalization being supported by India and China, and the Middle East, and the rest (to add, that will surely happen). Then Europe will be left alone in the whole world, with its irrelevant animosity to Moscow.
That media discussion, excessively heated, is the continuation of a very painful process of Russia’s saying goodbye to Europe. Hence the emotions of almost all the experts and columnists. True, most of the wars Russia fought through the centuries were with Europe. But European philosophy and culture have always been at the core of the Russian national character, and only recently we began to notice that Europe went mad, while we are reluctant to follow.
We still are having problems imagining our world without Europe. But the boldest thinkers are helping us along. What do we need Europe for, they are asking us. Technologies – not anymore, we are watching the battle for technological supremacy between China and the US, with other nations ready to hop in. Security? Europe has been feeding, for more than a decade, a veritable monster of a society, that’s Ukraine, telling that monster that denying its Russian origin and getting ready for war with Moscow was the core reason of its existence.
Lifestyle, then? But that’s exactly what Europe itself has been reforming for a couple of decades, to Russia’s dismay. Europe becomes a territory where you name it, it’s been banned by the woke ideology, while in Russia you are free to enjoy these daily insignificant things we think are natural. Freedom of expression? Tell it to writers and journalists, fighting their European battles and applying for Russian passports.
How about attitude to migration and to the very meaning of citizenship? Crowds of illegal aliens all over Paris and other cities are the favorite subject of discussion of those who manage to get a EU visa for some reason, and come back feeling sad for good old European Europe that is gone.
Not belonging to Europe or to Asia, nurturing own strategic autonomy looks a hard task, today. But, it seems, it’s time for everyone in this world to grow up and face that kind of reality.
Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com