The European Union has incorrectly allowed itself a very soft stance against Russia during the war in eastern Ukraine and thus allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to use violence as a political tool again, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine has reported.
The article notes that after six months of warfare it seems as if all parties got what they wanted.
“Pro-European-minded Ukrainians got access to Western Europe, and Euromaidan activists are quits with the previous regime, whereas militants in Donbas got an autonomy that allows Russia to keep its impact on the region,” the magazine reported.
However, reads the report, this is not the end of the conflict, because Putin got concessions from the EU on postponing the economic part of the Association Agreement with Ukraine.
“Moscow did not praise these concessions very much. A responsible minister put new demands for the West and said in the presence of Putin that Russia cannot trust Western Europe. Putin will continue to exert pressure on the West, because he knows that the EU has no common position,” reads the article.
Der Spiegel quoted Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who, after the annexation of Crimea, accused the West of adopting a weak position – this allowed Putin to again commit violence with a political instrument that allows the Kremlin to achieve their goals.
The actions of Kyiv, according to the author of the report, were agreed with the West and “only freeze the conflict” that may catch fire at any moment, if the Kremlin wants it.
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