Amid the fighting in Ukraine, cracks are emerging in the NATO alliance as members are divided on some key issues, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
NATO members are split on whether or not they should be speaking with Putin to seek a diplomatic solution to the war. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been engaging with Putin and favor the idea of talks as a way to end the crisis.
“In view of the horrible pictures that we currently have to stomach now for several days and actually weeks, the highest priority for now is to be able to reach a cease-fire so that the killing can stop,” Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for Scholz, told reporters on Monday.
According to a document obtained by Bloomberg, some NATO members are skeptical of France and Germany’s approach and think talks with Putin are counterproductive. The document said the UK, Poland, and other central and Eastern European nations — with the exception of Hungary — don’t think Putin is serious about negotiations.
President Biden made it clear that he is not pursuing diplomacy with Putin over the weekend when he said the Russian President “cannot remain in power.” When asked about Biden’s remarks, Macron said, “We shouldn’t escalate, with words or actions.”
Two diplomats from the countries opposed to talks with Putin told Bloomberg that they’re afraid Macron’s engagement could lead to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreeing to neutrality. During talks in Istanbul on Tuesday, Ukraine presented a potential peace deal to the Russians that would include Kyiv declaring neutrality, although Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from NATO countries.
According to Bloomberg, leaders from Britain, the Baltic states, and most Eastern European countries favor sending Ukraine more advanced weapons, such as new anti-aircraft capabilities. But other NATO members are worried sending more arms could provoke Moscow.
Zelensky has asked NATO to send planes and tanks, but a French official said doing so would be like “pouring oil” on a fire.
This is risible. France and Germany, especially Germany who is seriously affected by the economic sanctions, think they can convince Russia to stop its operation. “That Ain’t Gonna Happen.” The other idiots want to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian and think this is going to be successful. “That Ain’t Gonna Happen”, either.
And none of them are relevant. The US is the only country relevant to this conflict. And Russia already knows what US wants: regime change in Russia. They also know that the US is in charge of the alleged Ukrainian “negotiations” which are going nowhere. So the Russian operation will continue.
By the way, any nonsense about Russia “reducing its objectives” is wrong, nothing has changed. Any reduction in offensive operations in the area of Kiev is more along the lines of “rest and reorganization”, not surprising since the Russian forces have been in the field for a month. Temporary offensive pauses are common in war.
Well, it kind of looks like it IS slowing down some … so there may possibly be something to this. And peaceful ways to achieve objectives must always be given a chance, even once war has started.
Nothing is slowing. The main assault on the forces in Donbass is now ramping up. Probably within a couple weeks they will surrender or be destroyed. Then there is likely to be another pause for reorganization and updating the tactical and political situation before starting a push across the rest of Ukraine.
As I can’t read Mr. Putin’s mind, I’m not going to say you are wrong. However, I doubt if you can know with any certainty what’s going to happen either. So I guess we shall all see as time passes.
Don’t forget Zelensky has never been able to control Ukrainian nationalists, especially the neo-nazi factions, eg Azov. Zelensky tells them to attack, but they are a rabid dog. He can’t get them to stop killing and attacking, eg Minsk accord. If Putin can kill the dog, he may be convinced that a peace treaty can actually be upheld. Mariupol falling to Russia was a pivotal moment in the war — a key victory for Putin.
If this is something other than good cop, bad cop, it will be interesting … I doubt it though, based on previous performance.
However, one must always have hope. Perhaps France and Germany want a little daylight between themselves and globocop. Perhaps the industries in the two big nations see the facts that they don’t want to be ostracizing Russia (and maybe later China) forever. Hard to say for now.
Please, only one NATO country matters. Those other countries who oppose diplomacy might be moving their lips but it’s the US “urging” them to say what they say.
UK isn’t worth the paper they sell. France and Germany have seems the and experienced devastation, and don’t want another. No to mention, Germany would like to remain the honcho of Europe.
You pound the enemy into submission and dictate terms. That’s how you conduct a war. Stupid Russians!