Putin's 'Temptation of the West' has Only Just Begun (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)

Allowing the Rest of the World to Speak Directly to Americans
Promoting Peace, Diplomacy and Cross-Cultural Understanding

Home

Archives

About Us

Non-U.S. Newspapers

Jeop Betrams, The Netherlands

[Click Here for More Jeop Bertrams Cartoons]

Putin's 'Temptation of the West' has Only Just Begun (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)

"With regard to ending Russia's isolation - the question is already settled. … After Russian air strikes on opponents of Assad in Syria, high-level contacts between Russian and Western military officials and diplomats have intensified. … The notion of 'cooperating in Syria in exchange for concessions on Ukraine' is straight out of the Cold War textbook. But with the arrival of Cold War 2.0 so often declared since 2014, has the time come for this type of geopolitical transaction - particularly since because of refugees, Western politicians are frantically seeking solutions to the Syria crisis?"

By Tomasz Bielecki

Translated By Halszka Czarnocka

October 9, 2015

Poland - Gazeta Wyborcza - Original Article (Polish)

Brussels: Various reasons for Moscow's military involvement in Syria are cited by the experts: saving its reputation as an ally of friendly dictators (this time Bashar al-Assad), taking advantage of the sluggishness of the West to strengthen Russia's position in the Middle East, or concerns that the domestic audience might otherwise cease believing that "Russia has risen from its knees." The authors of these various explanations nevertheless agree on one of the motives (according to some, the primary one): the desire to definitively end Russia's isolation since the war in Ukraine. Another goal may also be to obtain concessions in the Ukraine peace talks and in regard to E.U. sanctions, which will expire next January unless they are unanimously upheld by the E.U.'s 28 member states.

With regard to ending Russia's isolation - the question is already settled. It was not quite a year ago that Putin, sick of being ostracized, Left the the G20 Summit in Australia on the sly. Now his speech in New York [video, right] and his meeting with Barack Obama were among the key moments of the recent opening of the U.N. General Assembly. After Russian air strikes on opponents of Assad in Syria, high-level contacts between Russian and Western military officials and diplomats have intensified.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

Now comes the cherry on the cake - a meeting about on the conflict in east Ukraine in the so-called "Normandy Format," i.e. Putin, Merkel, Hollande and [Ukraine President] Poroshenko - and this time not in Minsk - but in the very heart of Paris.

Who has the better narrative on Syria: Putin's Russia or Obama and the West? Interviewed in Le Figaro, French author and...
Posted by WorldMeetsUS on Monday, October 5, 2015

As for Ukraine, the idea of "cooperation in Syria in exchange for concessions" somewhere else is straight out of the Cold War textbook. With the arrival of Cold War 2.0 so often declared since 2014, has the time come for this type of geopolitical transaction - particularly since because of refugees, Western politicians are frantically seeking solutions to the Syria crisis? Some seem to forget that the cause of most of the civilian deaths in Syria and the flight of refugees is not the self-styled Islamic State, but the Assad regime supported by Moscow.

From the Kremlin's point of view, the launch of Russia's latest operation was promising, after German Vice Chancellor and leader of the ruling coalition Social Democrats Sigmar Gabriel announced last week that "our approach to Russia must change. … We cannot on the one hand maintain sanctions, while on the other ask Russia to cooperate on resolving the conflict in Syria."

This shows the difficulty of the political environment in which Chancellor Merkel must defend her Russia strategy.

Nevertheless, Berlin has again reaffirmed its existing position; the German Foreign Ministry distanced itself from Gabriel, and even the vice chancellor himself began backtracking from his assertion.

Later reactions were no better for Russia.

"Russia is a great country, with a great history and a great future," declared Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, speaking about Syria [at the Clinton Global Initiative. Yet even he quickly added that Europe has to care about "the sovereignty, identity and borders of Ukraine." For this reason, he said, "sanctions against Putin are justified."

And France? President Hollande's support for Merkel's sanctions policy reportedly runs against the advice of a sizeable portion of French diplomacy. However, in France as well, there is extreme disgust over Putin's game in Syria. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, arguably Assad's most stubborn opponent among the West's leading players, sharply criticized Moscow even before it became known that its air strikes on Syria were aimed not only at Islamic State positions but defending the dictator.

The trouble is - this is just the beginning of a new stage in Putin's temptation of the West. The Ukraine ceasefire - key element of the Minsk agreement - has held for a month now, with just three or four violations, the longest period since the beginning of the war. It's possible that Putin and Poroshenko will strike a deal in Paris on a formula for not-too-distant regional elections in Lugansk and Donetsk (another key element of the Minsk accords) that Kiev will deem compatible with the Minsk truce. The third element is Kiev's acquisition of control over Ukraine's entire border with Russia as well as the withdrawal from Donbas of "foreign armed formations," weapons and mercenaries.

And if Moscow and the separatists have not "fulfilled" this last requirement? … Will the E.U. then wish to soften or suspend sanctions? What then will Vice Chancellor Gabriel have to say? We'll know the answer in three to four months.

#putin Tweets

MORE ON ISLAMIC STATE:
El Nashra, Lebanon: Charlie Hebdo Black and Bloody
Le Quotidien d'Oran, Algeria: Faulting Charlie Hebdo or Being Algerian are not Terrorist Acts!
Guardian, U.K.: Pope: Climate Change 'Man Made'; Free Speech Not 'Absolute'
Rzeczpospolita, Poland: Europe Unprepared for Next Inevitable Terrorist Strike
Telegraph, U.K.: Paris Attacks: Don't Blame these Atrocities on Security Failures
Sotal Iraq, Iraq: 'Ungrateful' Muslim Migrants Face Post-Paris Fallout
Guardian, U.K.: Jihadists Aren't the Only Ideologues
Rzeczpospolita, Poland: Assimilating Europe's Muslims: 'It May be too Late'
Publico, Portugal: After Paris Attacks: Still Pursuing Voltaire's Revolution
Sol, Portugal: A Religious War ... or a Political One?
Le Monde, France: Dominique de Villepin: Let France 'Resist the Spirit of War'
Kurier, Austria: After Paris, Freedom Writ Large is at Stake
Huanqiu, China: Condemn Paris Attacks ... and Western Cultural Insensitivity
Corriere Della Sera, Italy: 'Europe's 9/11': If this is Islam, here's What We'd Like
Die Zeit, Germany: Charlie Hebdo: Time to 'Impose the Enlightenment' on Islam
Le Figaro, France: War has Come to France - and France Must Win it