Scapegoats

(by Paolo Giordani) The director of the "Kyiv Post", Bohdan Nahaylo, called" an atonement "the historic trip to the Ukrainian capital of the French president Macron, from the German Chancellor Scholz and the Italian premier Draghi.

What did the leaders of the three major countries of the European Union have to “atone for”, including the Romanian president Johannis? In the eyes of the Ukrainians, the hesitation and delays in sending heavy offensive weapons (due in large part to Scholz's doubts), the communication channel with Putin stubbornly kept open by Macron and his reference to the need to "not humiliate" the 'Russian interlocutor, the pro-utinist fibrillations of part of the majority that governs the Draghi government and, collectively, the subtle but essential distinction from the intransigence of the United States, Great Britain and Poland which do not even hypothesize a diplomatic solution to try to reconcile the needs of Russians and Ukrainians.


We can ask ourselves: was this difference erased by the trip to Kiev of the “three tenors”, as some have called them with a certain dose of irony? In our opinion, no. And it is good that this is the case.

Obviously, the unity of the West in supporting the attacked Ukraine, nor the "green light" of the three to the country's candidacy for EU membership are not in question (assuming there are no other obstacles, effective entry will require years of negotiations and reforms). On this the leaders of France, Germany and Italy have given the Ukrainian president ample assurances, just enough to "atone".

Differences remain on the evolution of the conflict: the Europeans hint at peace, albeit "on the conditions to be decided by the Ukrainians", Zelensky essentially looks at the battlefield hoping to reverse the fate of the war. Draghi states that in the talks "no weapons were requested ", Zelensky comes back to ask her at the press conference.

The fact is that the diplomatic initiative implies compromise and compromise - 114 days after the Russian invasion, with the Donbass and part of the South occupied - implies territorial renunciations that Ukraine - today says it does not want to make.
Despite the commendable efforts to get into the game, the three European leaders must take note of the reality: there is little to "atone", the ranks are held in Washington and Moscow.

Paolo Giordani - International Diplomatic Institute

Scapegoats