Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry press-service / AFP
An informal meeting of EU foreign ministers took place in Kiev on October 2. Such a gathering happened for the first time outside the borders of the European association. 24 ministers out of 27 came. The diplomats of Hungary, Poland and Latvia were not present. They were replaced by lower-ranking officials.
As for the Hungarian minister, everything is clear: Budapest is known to have a special position on Ukraine. But the foreign ministers of Poland and Latvia, according to the Ukrainian side, are ill.
If the Latvian refusal can somehow be explained, then his Polish colleague, Mr. Zbigniew Rau, is healthy and capable. It’s just a bad blood brewed between Warsaw and Kiev.
«It will take titanic efforts to get back to the starting point. I’m not going to suffice the Ukrainian authorities on what needs to be done. Our relations are long and complex. The Ukrainian side will definitely find a solution», Rau said cheerfully just the same day on the Polsat TV channel.
The friendship fell apart after the European Commission lifted the restriction on imports of Ukrainian grain to Eastern European countries on September 15. Later, Ukraine filed lawsuits with the World Trade Organization against Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, which renewed the embargo. Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Zelensky got so bold that he blamed Warsaw: the ban, they say, helps Russia.
The restless head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called everyone to the bank of the Dnieper River to «express solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people». He announced in advance that no fateful decisions would be taken at the informal «summit», only an «exchange of views».
It is noteworthy that this Spanish politician traveled around the region for a week. First, he visited Chisinau, then Odessa and finally reached the city, which Prince Oleg the Wise once christened «the mother of Russian cities».
Following the consultations, the participants of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting assured Ukraine of their long-term support and confirmed the prospects of its membership in the EU.
Borrell proposed to allocate up to €5 billion in military aid to Kiev next year.
The head of the Kiev regime also took the floor and emphasized that «victory in the war with Russia depends on cooperation with the EU».
At the same time, he scolded Brussels for its sluggishness.
«Any sanctions pause increases the time of Russian aggression, and the pause after the 11th sanctions package is already too long. Obviously, sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry are needed — both for what Russia is doing at the Zaporozhye nuclear plant and as a step against the use of questionable Russian nuclear technology. Doubtful both in terms of safety and from a political point of view», Zelensky said.
Kiev believes that the visit of almost a full squad of top European diplomats is a good signal that Ukraine will soon become a member of the EU.
As is known, on October 6, the heads of state and government of the European Union intend to discuss «the prospects of enlargement and the consequences of this step» at a summit (again — informal) in Granada (Spain). On the agenda is Kiev’s request to start accession talks before the end of the year. The European Commission intends to prepare a relevant recommendation no later than the beginning of November, after which the summit in Brussels in mid-December should make a final decision on the start of negotiations. This, however, requires the consent of all 27 EU countries. And the Kiev meeting showed that «there is no agreement among comrades». We are talking about the special positions of those countries that have not delegated their diplomats. By the way, Slovakia may join them, where the party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who condemns sanctions against Russia and promises to stop supplying arms to Ukraine, won the parliamentary elections.
But that’s not all. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, along with French and British Defense Ministers Sebastien Lecornu and Grant Shapps, arrived in Kiev a few days earlier — on September 28. The formal reason is participation in the 1st International Forum of Defense Industries, which was attended by representatives of 252 defense industry companies from 30 countries. The task is ambitious, but difficult to accomplish: in the conditions of growing difficulties with arms supplies, Western «sponsors» intend to radically change the model of strengthening Ukraine’s defense potential by setting up the production of weapons and ammunition on its territory. France has been particularly diligent, and its defense contractors have signed 20 agreements here.
Let me remind you that earlier Moscow warned NATO countries that any arms supplies to Kiev and foreign arms production facilities located on Ukrainian territory would become legitimate military targets for Russia.
A less public part of the arrival of the Stoltenberg-led team was the negotiations with the top military and political leadership of Ukraine on how to move from the failed counteroffensive to the «winter pause». To negotiate with Russia, fix the real situation and get a «truce in exchange for land»? Or to continue military actions «to the last Ukrainian»?
It seems that Zelensky (especially after his recent trip to the US) is betting on the second option.
As for the friendly visit of a whole flock of European and NATO hawks to Kiev, the hint is obvious: things are going badly for the Kiev regime, and emergency (at least moral) support is needed. But isn’t it too late?