Until now, Europeans have been the great absentees from the peace negotiation table. As many as there have been, they have only involved the USA and Russia. However, there is hope that from now on, Europeans could become part of the actors in this whole negotiation process, after they have been watching everything from the sidelines, powerless for a long time. Political scientist Radu Albu Comănescu, from UBB Cluj, explained for “Adevărul”, how this could be possible and what the scenarios for future negotiations would be.
The European Union was excluded from the negotiations for Ukraine, as the American president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin preferred bilateral discussions. In this way, not only Europe was excluded but also Ukraine, even though the fate of this country is at stake.
However, after the appearance of the new draft peace plan, the Europeans played smart and managed to convince Trump that the project is improvable, and Marco Rubio traveled to Switzerland to meet with representatives of Ukraine and the Europeans. Thus, a new peace plan, a new draft, also improvable, appeared, which is expected to be forwarded to Moscow.
Thus, starting from a not at all enviable position, as an outsider, the European Union has taken another step towards the goal of becoming an important actor at the negotiation table, even though the road there is expected to be long.
Better prospects for the European Union
Political scientist Radu Albu Comănescu, professor and researcher at UBB Cluj and expert in diplomacy and European policies, explained for “Adevărul”, how Europeans could achieve this goal and what scenarios are opening up. Until now, the Russians have pretended to be willing to negotiate with the Ukrainian side and have continued to support their maximalist objectives, practically demanding the capitulation of Kiev, say most experts, and Radu Albu Comănescu agrees.
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