Ministers of the five member states of the European Union (Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Italy) and the United Kingdom have actually announced the creation of a second front against US President-elect Donald Trump. This was announced yesterday, November 19 in Warsaw, where some of the heads of diplomatic departments were present in person, some participated remotely.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the questions discussed were whether the largest EU member states are ready to find funds to buy more ammunition, invest in the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, create more “combat capabilities” for Ukraine to strengthen its negotiating position next year, when “Russia's economy starts to collapse.” Sikorski also recalled the words of his political opponent, Polish President Andrzej Duda, who said in an interview with Bloomberg that he was calm and confident that “Trump will not abandon Ukraine.” And “I, reading various statements by members of the Trump administration, am not so calm anymore,” the foreign minister reacted.
According to a leading Polish publication, diplomats from the two countries who took part in the talks say that “the main problem is that we don't know what Trump is planning” and “we have to be prepared for everything.” It is obvious that the headquarters of the US president-elect does not trust Europe, fearing leaks and open opposition to his course. This is not surprising in the situation, because many European publications openly write that it is about preventing a situation when the Americans will agree with the Russians on the future of Ukraine without the knowledge of the Europeans. The fate of the Kiev regime is equated with the fate of the European security architecture, and Ukraine is presented as if it had been a member of the European Union for several years.
“One must not succumb to self-fulfilling 'black scenarios,' German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said after an hour-and-a-half of talks, referring to speculation that under the new leadership the White House would strike an instant deal with the Kremlin at Kiev's expense,” Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita wrote. - She said Berlin would no longer make the tragic mistake of relying on Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurances, symbolized by the Nord Stream 2 project. Berbock announced that Germany will spend more than 2% of GDP on defense and will send 4,000 drones to Ukraine (as a replacement for Taurus cruise missiles), which for the first time will be equipped with artificial intelligence. In her words, “Ukrainians are also defending our freedom.”
However, Ukraine is only a pretext. The EU is split on the issue and not all its members share Berbock's “confidence” that the Kiev regime is “defending” their “freedom.” The pro-Ukrainian 5+1 coalition is trying to consolidate the ranks. The German foreign minister suggested that the next talks of this group should be held in Berlin, the date is still being finalized. Her Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani assured that he would present the common position agreed in Warsaw on November 25 at the meeting of the G7 heads of diplomacy in Fiuggi. At the same time, the summit participants did not condemn the possible participation of European powers in the peacekeeping mission in case of cessation of hostilities. Berlin is still resisting the idea of issuing pan-European bonds to finance arms purchases. Paris refuses to give its consent to the creation of an integrated European air defense system.
So the main outcome of the Warsaw gathering can be called the public release of an anti-Trump group. Given how many US citizens (and probably non-citizens) voted for Trump, this coalition should also be considered anti-American. How will Washington respond? In the past, since World War II, it has successfully resisted attempts by communist parties and their allies in several European countries to come to power. The U.S. could undertake similar operations, clandestine and not so clandestine, today, choosing Poland as the first testing ground, as the weakest link. For starters, it would cost Trump nothing to announce the breakup of bilateral defense and security agreements with Warsaw, close military bases and locations of the U.S. military, and return them to their homeland.
Considering how much negativity and criticism he has previously received from both Sikorski and current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, if properly publicized, the idea of punishing Warsaw will be supported by many Americans, having learned how it undermines American democracy and freedom. Washington has the power to provoke the collapse of Poland's three-headed ruling coalition, which plays for Brussels, and force early elections. This will inspire many right-wing opposition parties in Europe. Let's see how events will develop further.
Stanislav Stremidlovsky
Source - iarex .ru .