Thursday

8th Jun 2023

US has little faith in Hollande-Merkel trip to Russia

  • Biden (l) is sceptical that Putin wants to make peace (Photo: consilium.europa.au)

US vice president Joe Biden has indicated he has little faith that France and Germany can persuade Russia to halt its offensive in Ukraine.

“[Russian] president Putin continues to call for new peace plans as his troops roll through the Ukrainian countryside and he absolutely ignores every agreement that his country has signed in the past and that he signed recently, including in Minsk”, Biden said in Brussels on Friday (6 February).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • The EU and US are also in talks on a free trade zone (Photo: consilium.europa.au)

He said Ukraine is “fighting for survival” against Russian “mercenaries and tanks and, as we say in the US, ‘little green men’ - soldiers without patches, which are sophisticated Russian special operations”.

“This is a moment in which the EU and US must stand together. Russia can’t be allowed to redraw the map of Europe - that’s exactly what they’re trying to do”.

Biden spoke alongside EU Council chief Donald Tusk, who noted “the situation is even more dramatic than 11 months ago”.

Russia in January launched a new offensive in south-east Ukraine. Kiev says that some 8,000 regular Russian soldiers are fighting alongside Russia-controlled paramilitaries in the region.

French president Francois Hollande and German leader Angela Merkel also on Friday arrived in Moscow to try to broker a ceasefire.

Both of them, like Biden, lowered expectations.

Merkel, speaking in Berlin before she left for Russia, said: “It’s totally open as to whether we will, with these talks, succeed in achieving a ceasefire … We can only do what we can to resolve this conflict and especially to end the bloodshed”.

Referring to Putin, Hollande said in Paris “if we don’t [succeed], at least we’ll know who’s responsible”.

The French and German leaders are to put forward an amended version of the Minsk protocol - a 2014 peace accord which calls for Russia to pull back its forces and to hand back control of the border in return for limited autonomy for east Ukraine.

Some EU diplomats are even more sceptical.

One contact told EUobserver that Putin, in mid-January, sent Ukraine a new ceasefire plan, with an attached map, which proposed moving the de facto border deeper into Ukraine.

“It shows he’s no longer interested in the Minsk deal”, the EU source said.

The diplomat added that with Russian forces making military gains in recent weeks Putin has no incentive to back down.

“Hollande and Merkel are going at a bad time because they have no leverage. There is no EU agreement on further economic sanctions and there is no agreement on delivering weapons to Ukraine".

“They can’t say: ‘If you don’t pull back, this is what we’ll do’. So if Putin agrees to stop, it will come at a high price”.

No leverage

EU states plan to blacklist a handful of extra Russian names next week.

The top man on the list is Russian deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov.

Greece threatened to block the visa bans until the last minute and forced hawkish EU states to keep more senior Russian names off the register.

EU institutions have also been tasked with drawing up options for fresh economic sanctions.

But they are unlikely to be ready before March, while EU diplomats say that Greece - and other Russia-friendly EU countries, such as Cyprus - might veto the initiative.

“Russia will offer Greece anything it wants, anything, in return for its support”, the EU diplomat said, referring to a recent Russian offer to help Greece manage its debt.

For his part, Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades told the Cyprus Weekly newspaper on Friday there are “many” EU states which “support diplomatic ways [to resolve the crisis] and not additional sanctions against Russia”.

“We want to avoid further deterioration of relations between Russia and the European Union”.

The Russia-friendly camp also includes Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

EU to blacklist five Russians

EU diplomats have agreed to list a Russian deputy defence minister, two officials and two MPs over the recent escalation in Ukraine.

Greece equivocates on Russia bailout

The new Greek leader has said he isn’t interested in Russian aid “right now”, in a comment seen by some analysts as being deliberately ambiguous.

Opinion

Ukraine: Brave EU decisions are needed

Franco-German diplomacy will not revive the Minsk protocol. It's time to face reality on Russia's intentions and take brave decisions, such as arming Ukraine.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. Europeans don't see China as a rival, but weapons to Russia is a red line
  2. Cleaning workers urge Parliament: "Europe should lead by example"
  3. Final push for EU-Mercosur deal, amid deforestation fears
  4. Ministers given 50/50 chance of reaching EU asylum deal
  5. EU Commission wants better focus on mental health care
  6. Right of Reply from the Hungarian government
  7. True scale of horror in today's Belarus hard to comprehend
  8. Israeli settlers encircling Jerusalem, EU envoys warn

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us