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Munich conference: Russia ‘hate fest’ or split between Western allies?
4:
RT,
8
February, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Russia will not sacrifice its national interest, but is ready to “engage constructively” with the US, Lavrov stressed.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko
meets U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Victoria
Nuland (L-R) at the 51st Munich Security Conference on February 7,
2015. (Reuters/Michaela Rehle)
“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.
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.
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.
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
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
READ MORE: Europe reticent about supplying Ukraine with weapons & money
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the 51st
Munich Security Conference on February 7, 2015. (RIA Novosti/Flickr
MFA Russia)
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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