Select a language
Their planes could have crossed paths over Europe. On 1 March the newly-elected Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych arrived in Brussels for his first official trip abroad. That very evening his Russian opposite number, Dmitry Medvedev, touched down in Paris for a three-day visit with great pomp and ceremony. This chassé-croisé is the very picture of Europe’s internal contradictions.
Though reputedly pro-Russian, Yanukovych made a point of proclaiming that “joining the EU is the Ukraine’s key foreign policy priority”. His decision to call on Brussels before paying his respects to Moscow – which he did on 5 March – is hailed as a diplomatic victory for the EU 27, which has been trying to tether the Ukraine to the Western wagon ever since the Orange Revolution in 2004. Even if they differ on whether to admit the Ukraine to their ranks, they share a desire to back the country’s modernisation and shore up its autonomy against Moscow’s interests. And this common stance is gradually bearing fruit.
But there is no consensus on how to handle Russia under Medvedev (and his prime minister Vladimir Putin), on the other hand. The trip to Paris was about natural gas and arms deals: the former have already been clinched, the latter are still in the pipeline. These deals have incurred the ire of other EU members. “France is seriously undermining Western unity,” wrote Romanian weekly Dilema Veche earlier in the week. Were France to sell the Russians the four Mistral helicopter carriers they are so keen on, that would be scuttle the solidarity that is essential to keeping Europe sailing smoothly. But reducing Russia to a pernicious power whose sole object is to sow division between Europeans and with whom no dialogue is possible is not a viable policy.
Despite their historical differences, Russia and Ukraine have one thing in common: they are both EU neighbours and cannot be ignored. In Kiev as in Moscow, Europe will not be strong if its members are systematically working at cross purposes or cherrypicking deals to suit their national economic interests. It will be strong if its member states can agree on the values they wish to defend and if they can clearly define the strategic interests of the EU as a whole – a reflection that goes far beyond the Russian question alone.
Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!
It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.
Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!
