West split on relations with Russia
There are those who place their weapons on its borders, there are those who want new ones sanctions, there are those who want to break any relationship. And there are those who want to carry on the diplomacy, in a more or less directly commercially or strategically interested way. The West is not approaching the dossier concerning the Russia in a unitary way. Far from it. Everyone pursues their own strategy, to the detriment of the much-famous unit that remains, as often happens, a chimera. A problem he certainly doesn’t have fly, which knocks on the doors of the Old Continent both from the east and from the south.
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The main protagonist of this division within the western (or non-camp) camp is the Germany. Yes, because Berlin continues to move in total autonomy, partly also by itself showing the first internal cracks in the traffic light coalition that has ruled the country for just over a month after the interminable reign of Angela Merkel. Berlin always calls for the unity of Europe also in matters of foreign policy but in the meantime it continues serenely to move in complete autonomy, often also in a way contrary to the interests of other countries. For example on the pipeline North Stream 2 which infuriates Washington and the Baltic countries but which continues despite the tensions in Ukraine.
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Short circuit in Germany: Baerbock in Moscow and no weapons in Kiev. Macron observes, Biden gets angry
A few days ago, among other things, there was a sensational coincidence of events: on the one hand, the Foreign Minister of the Greens Annalena Baerbock who went to Moscow to speak with Vladimir Putin, the socialist on the other side of Berlin Olaf Scholz which sided decisively with Ukraine. Internal short circuit that certainly does not contribute to clarity. The head of the German Navy even asked for “respect” for Putin’s positions after the German government’s decision not to send weapons to Kiev.
A move, or lack of move, which raised more than a few eyebrows in Washington and in the belt of the north-eastern countries of Europe. The feeling of Scholz would be the one that going to the wall with Putin would do nothing but definitively cement the partnership between Russia and China, who is only waiting for one last push to become an alliance in spite of himself. A fear not so unlike that of France’s Emmanuel Macron, which has so far tried in vain to relaunch the quadrilateral dialogue with Moscow, Berlin and Kiev.
Salvini: “Italy is a bridge between Russia and the West”. Putin meets Italian companies
And then there is Italy, which as always has a peculiar position. On the other hand, relations with Moscow are historically profound at all levels: political, commercial, cultural, even philosophical. Matteo Salvini, whose League has long been known to have had a more or less direct line with the Kremlin, expressed the hope that Italy could become a “bridge of dialogue between Russia and the West”. Certainly Putin will dialogue with a delegation of Italian entrepreneurs and managers on Wednesday 26 January in an event organized by the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, organized in collaboration with the Italian-Russian entrepreneurial committee chaired by Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Pirelli.
Russia also moves in the Mediterranean and in Africa
Meanwhile, on the ground, Europe is starting to look carefully at Russian moves not only, as is obvious, on the eastern front but also on the southern one. In particular with reference to the theater of Mediterraneo e Africa, where Moscow has recently gained a lot of positions. For example the Mali, which recently “expelled” Paris and replaced it with Russia. The military junta of Bamako, protagonist of the recent coup, has decided to break the defensive agreement in place with Paris. An interesting choice if you look at the fact that Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group have only recently arrived in the country. It is not an isolated case, with Françafrique increasingly looking to the Kremlin as a defensive partner.
But also pay attention to the Mediterraneo, where Moscow is about to deploy six ships for landing operations: an unprecedented move that could allow for a total encirclement of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s main target, but also a clear warning to “sailors” from all over southern Europe that Russia he is an actor with whom we must also deal in the “Our sea“Not to mention the question of gas. In recent days, the United States held talks with Qatar and other large gas exporters to plan emergency measures in the event that a Russian invasion of Ukraine cuts off supplies to Europe. But the dependence of the Old Continent on Moscow is still very strong.
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