Watch out for Washington to find a way to scuttle any EU-Russia deal on
Ukraine crisis that may emerge from Minsk talks
- "the fact that there is dissent from Europe is meaningful and significant [...] the Europeans are trying desperately to get some way out of this crisis"
- "Whether Washington will allow them to do that remains to be seen.[...] I don't think Washington is going to allow it.
- "The EU by itself has no policy of its own, and this is the way Washington has wanted it from the very beginning."
- "I think one of the basic policy goals of Washington in Europe is to prevent any coherent joint European policy from ever arising."
A split between the US and EU over the prospect of sending arms to Kiev, if
not just public posturing, would mean Europe is finally getting a policy of its
own – something Washington never wanted to happen, political expert Nebojsa
Malic told RT.
RT: Do you think the meeting between Merkel and
Obama was fruitful?
Nebojsa Malic: Just a
message that the US is considering to send weapons is going to be encouraging
the regime in Kiev not to engage in any sort of diplomacy and continue to
pursue military means to resolving this crisis.
But the fact that there is dissent from Europe is meaningful and
significant – if it is, in fact, real descent and not just public posturing. I
think the Europeans are feeling the impact of the sanctions because this war of
words and deeds, in which Washington is targeting Moscow via Kiev, is really
destroying the European economy more than anything else.
And so the Europeans are trying desperately to get some way out of this
crisis, and would also give their project a much needed legitimacy boost after
the events in Greece. Whether Washington will allow them to do that remains to
be seen.
RT: Merkel reiterated her view that only
diplomacy will work – will Washington ever go along with that?
NM: Well,
considering that the diplomatic solution – that what the Germans, French, and
Poles achieved on February 21 last year lasted less than a day before
Washington-sponsored radicals violently overthrew the government and basically
scuttled it – I don't think Washington is going to allow it. I think too many
people in this town are invested in the project of hostilities towards Russia
and generating some sort of militantly Banderous Ukraine, that they will not be
willing to just let it go.
RT: Both leaders repeated many times that
the alliance was as firm as ever – why did they feel the need to labor the
point?
NM: Well, it is one of those rules of politics: when you have to say something is, it is a sure sign that it is not. The more people talk about unity, the more you can conclude that there is a lack of unity, in fact. So the pronouncement by Secretary Kerry and Obama, “We're unified, everything is fine, don't pay any attention of what is going on,” is more a sign of panic and fear that the unity is actually cracking and fracturing, and the Germans especially – and the Europeans in general – are trying to go their own way.
I think there is a desperate need...to conjure reality into being through
words, and it obviously keeps not working, but it does not stop them from
trying.
RT: Very few European countries support the
idea of arming Kiev, something the US is considering in earnest...and only a
few European nations joined Washington's anti-ISIS coalition. Is the White
House losing its hold on Europe?
NM: Europe's
relationship with Washington is very complex. The EU by itself has no policy of
its own, and this is the way Washington has wanted it from the very beginning.
So you can play certain countries against each other. You know, people that
have interests in their own neighborhoods tend to prioritize those over some
sort of joint strategy.
I think one of the basic policy goals of Washington in Europe is to prevent
any coherent joint European policy from ever arising. This is far more
important than Russia or China or ISIS, or anything. Because if Europe gets its
act together and starts acting independently, then all of a sudden Washington
is lacking the second pole of its axis that is ruling the world, and it can’t
project power. So again, it is useful to keep in mind that part and parcel of
Washington’s action is preventing any sort of consensus within Europe itself.
Source: Russia Insider
12-02-2015
