Munich conference: Russia ‘hate fest’ or split between Western allies?
World leaders gathered in Germany to discuss international security on Saturday, with the meeting somewhat descending into ‘Russia-bashing’. But the West showed itself to be more divided than ever on Ukraine, with the EU and US drifting further apart.
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The Americans led the harsh anti-Russian rhetoric at the
conference, and once again, they did not exclude the possibility
of lethal arms deliveries to Ukraine in the future.
Speaking to reporters, NATO’s top commander in Europe, General
Philip Breedlove, said that although no troops would be sent to
Ukraine, providing Kiev with lethal weapons and equipment was on
the cards.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, British Conservative
politician and former foreign secretary Malcom Rifkind, and US
senator Lindsey Graham notably took a pronounced anti-Russian
stance, blaming the Kremlin for the violence in Ukraine.
READ MORE: NATO top commander in Europe says 'military option' possible in Ukraine
Moscow hit back, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
stressing in his Munich speech that it is the US and its European
allies who have played the key destabilizing role in Ukraine,
from helping to overthrow the democratically elected government
to failing to condemn the new Kiev government for shelling the
civilian population in the east with cluster bombs.
“Through every step, as the crisis has developed, our
American colleagues and the EU under their influence have tried
to escalate the situation,” Lavrov said, adding that the
West has always been urging world governments to enter into
dialogue with opposition groups or figures, even when it came to
extremist groups such as the Taliban. However, in Ukraine it has
bluntly been supporting every one of Kiev’s actions.
READ MORE: Lavrov: US escalated Ukraine crisis at every stage, blamed Russia
Lavrov then spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry, warning
him that Washington’s plans to supply Kiev with military
equipment might have “unpredictable consequences”,
including “disrupting the efforts to resolve the crisis in
southeastern Ukraine,” according to a Facebook statement by
the Russian Foreign Ministry. He stressed that Russia and the US
agree that the only basis for any solution is a comprehensive
national dialogue on constitutional reform in Ukraine.
Russia will not sacrifice its national interest, but is ready to
“engage constructively” with the US, Lavrov stressed.
At the press conference, the Russian top diplomat was pelted with
questions implying that Moscow is responsible for the ongoing
conflict in Ukraine.
“It felt like orchestrated hate fest. Obviously these people
live in a surreal world. The US try to change the balance of
forces in eastern Europe and the EU join the band wagon,”
Srdja Trifkovic, foreign affairs editor of the Chronicles
magazine told RT, adding that “whenever a major power wants
to change the status-quo, the result is a crisis.”
Despite the recent efforts to try and to stop the violence and
find a peaceful way out of the Ukrainian conflict, with French
and German leaders having taken an initiative to discuss a peace
plan with Russia’s President Putin and Ukraine’s President
Poroshenko, the actions of the West are still “profoundly
self-righteous,” critics say.
READ MORE: Hopes for breakthrough: Moscow talks on Ukraine 'constructive,' joint doc 'possible'
“What I saw today in the press conference is a total unwillingness from the European, Western side to even take into consideration the arguments of the other side...the questions they pose are so selective, so predetermined by their self-righteousness – that is not the way you try to get peace,” former security consultant at the OSCE Lode Vanoost told RT, adding that the West is hypocritical to a level “so profound that [its behavior] is not a serious way to try to get peace.”
However, despite the overwhelmingly anti-Russian rhetoric coming
from the West, there are increasingly numbers of politicians who
are softening their stance.
Following the Friday meeting of President Putin, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande
in Moscow, which was said to be “constructive,” the
French leader revealed that the discussion included the creation
of a larger demilitarized zone between the Kiev and
militia-controlled territories. He also called for “quite
strong” autonomy for Ukraine’s eastern regions.
READ MORE: Hollande: If lasting Ukraine peace not found 'scenario is war'
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said on Saturday that
Paris does not want a new Cold War, considering that Russia and
France having a long history of common interests and values. The
former state leader also said that it was Crimea that had chosen
to join Russia and it “cannot be blamed” for its choice.
Previously, former Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, said that
Crimea has “always” been a part of Russia.
READ MORE: Sarkozy: Crimea cannot be blamed for
joining Russia
While the European leaders have largely been united in their support for the Kiev government, only a few have agreed with the United States on supplying weapons to Ukraine. Instead, the German leader stressed that the crisis “cannot be resolved militarily” and that sending more arms can only worsen the conflict.
The issue of military aid to Ukraine is now considered to be the
main subject causing the divide in the West, with many in Europe
realizing that the potential threat of an escalating conflict on
its territory exists.
READ MORE: Europe reticent about supplying
Ukraine with weapons & money
Political analysts agree that hidden from the public eye,
“there is definitely a big divide between the US and the EU
on the whole issue of Ukraine,” Vanoost told RT. “It’s
very difficult to know how the game will finish, because it's not
an open game, it's behind the scenes,” Bruno Drweski, an
analyst specializing in eastern Europe, said.
Sanctions against Russia have economically hit the EU itself, but
have not affected the US. The conflict is also happening on the
European continent, not in America, with the EU generally not
eager to further escalate it.
“First of all, the European Union is directly involved if the
conflict escalates – which is not the case for the United States.
Secondly, in the EU they are realistic enough to know that the
government in Kiev is very unstable, that they don't even have
full control of all parts of their own military,” Vanoost
explained, while speaking about the Western split in regard of
the Ukrainian crisis.
However, toning down rhetoric puts some in the firing line, too.
After Merkel said that Europe wants security alongside with
Russia, rather against it, and reiterated Berlin’s stance that
the Ukrainian conflict must be resolved peacefully, US senator
Graham lashed out at the German leader for her refusal to send
arms to Ukraine.
“She can't see how arming people who are willing to fight and
die for their freedom makes things better,” the US
politician said, adding that the West cannot “turn [its] back
on the struggling democracy.”
In an effort to silence voices against harsher anti-Russian measures, US Vice President Joe Biden has labeled those questioning sanctions against Moscow “inappropriate and annoying,” Der Spiegel reported, quoting the participants of the Brussels meeting. The US official called on European countries to show unity when it comes to sanctions against Russia. Biden even reportedly added that critics of the policy should be aware that they also benefited from the current low price of oil.
READ MORE: Biden says Europeans questioning
Russia sanctions 'inappropriate, annoying' – Spiegel
“The Americans want to run this show, and they have no
interest in stopping the crisis in Ukraine because it is really
driving a wedge between the Europeans and Russia. And to their
[the US’] mind, it is only pushing Europe ever so firmly back
into the NATO fold,” Trifkovic told RT.
Meanwhile, Lavrov said Moscow is ready to guarantee agreements
between the warring sides if a peaceful solution to the crisis is
found, which would satisfy both Kiev and the eastern Ukrainian
regions.
READ MORE: Lavrov: US escalated Ukraine crisis at
every stage, blamed Russia
Quoting the “aggression” against the federal republic of
Yugoslavia, the current crisis has been named “an ongoing
assault against the Russian Federation” by the former deputy
head of OSCE, Willy Wimmer. Calling for a hastier end to the
conflict, which “is the best for all of us,” the ex official of
the European security and cooperation organization said that
“it's better to have Polish apples in Russian stores than US
tanks at the Russian border.”
