Open/close all quotes
Things could happen quickly now
Europe faces crucial tasks now, writes Dagens Nyheter:
“What does Putin want in return for his yes to peace? That seems to be the question Trump is most focused on. Getting Zelensky to say yes seems to be his main task. If Tuesday’s talks between Trump and Putin mark the start of a negotiating sprint, we in Europe must be clear about our main task: to give Ukraine the opportunity to say no, even if this means continuing to fight without US support. And – if an agreement is reached – to ensure that we can provide the security guarantees ourselves, without relying on the US.”
Kyiv in a bind
La Repubblica reflects on how Ukraine can be protected:
“Kyiv is ready to give up something: joining Nato (while still seeking EU membership). In the hope of at least coming under a protective umbrella in a kind of [Nato alliance] Article 5: meaning support in the event of aggression even without formal membership. The question of peacekeeping forces, which the ‘coalition of the willing’ is working on at the instigation of London and Paris, remains open. An unacceptable hypothesis for Moscow, which has already rejected the military presence of the NATO countries. But the Kremlin has at least declared its willingness to discuss the presence of unarmed observers, perhaps under the auspices of the UN and non-hostile countries such as Brazil, Turkey or China.”
A new cold war
The small states have no choice but to look on from the sidelines, La Stampa explains:
“The Russian-Ukrainian war has set the world back half a century. Today’s phone call is the first of the new cold war, which is always on the verge of becoming lukewarm. The two superpowers are working together to restore the balance in the world and eliminate dangerous and annoying ‘details’ that come between them. The others, the small fry, Ukraine and the Europe of the willing and the unable, are watching and hoping that the decisions won’t be too hard on them.”
An outrageous normalisation
In a Telegram post picked up by Echo, historian Sergei Medvedev voices amazement at the US’s rehabilitation of Russia:
“It’s still unclear what this war will lead to and what Trump will achieve, but so far he has achieved an outrageous normalisation of Russia, Putin and this aggression over the last month. The whole world is talking about it as a given, discussing the opening of Nord Stream, an energy agreement, the Arctic, trade, the return of Western companies to Russia – as if there hadn’t been three years of war and egregious crimes.”
Scary signals from Washington
The Süddeutsche Zeitung says Trump’s announcement that the two major powers will soon be talking about territories and power plants does not bode well:
“By power plants he probably means the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. … The idea that Trump could define a border over the phone – and above all that the US would recognise these borders under international law – is extremely scary. Even if large parts of the world would reject this recognition of naked injustice, the signal from Washington would be clear, and the break with former partners would be complete. It’s one thing to rename the Gulf of Mexico for domestic use. But those who shift borders set the world on fire.”