A clash of vanities is ongoing in Europe, as the various political leaderships vie for the chance to ‘lead’ the continental response to the ongoing peace talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
After having her own pro-Ukraine initiative thwarted by the absolute lack of support, EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas had the satisfaction of telling the press that the latest UK and France-led ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting had again failed to present any clear plans to enforce a post-war settlement in Ukraine.
Kallas was asked yesterday whether the ‘coalition’ gathering on Thursday (10) in Brussels had managed to clear up the confusion and the inaction.
The Telegraph reported:
“’No’, Mrs Kallas told reporters when asked whether Thursday’s meeting had shed light on the strategy to police any peace settlement. ‘The different member states have different opinions and the discussions are still ongoing’.
Her remarks were dismissed by John Healey, the Defence Secretary, who said the Franco-British led coalition’s plans were ‘real’ and ‘well-advanced’.”
Kallas further stated to be uncertain whether any European force should be deployed to ‘uphold peace in Ukraine, monitor any ceasefire or be fighting on the ground’.
“On Thursday, Mr. Healey and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, chaired a meeting of defense ministers and officials from the 30 nations taking part in the ‘coalition of the willing’.
But doubt have been growing about the speed of talks, which have been partly hindered Vladimir Putin’s refusal to accept a truce.”
Breaking Defense reported:
“Despite 30 nations representing the Anglo-French-led ‘coalition of the willing’ meeting at NATO’s headquarters today in a bid to accelerate military planning for a reassurance force in Ukraine, possible troop numbers and a timeline for the force to stand up have still not been shared.
A number of tensions among individual nations are also threatening to derail progress; chief among them is Finland’s push for a US security guarantee, in spite of Washington strongly signaling it has no interest in offering one or contributing to any force that would place American troops on Ukrainian soil.”
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