Spiegel suggests that the Vilnius Eastern Partnership summit a year ago triggered the Ukraine conflict, pointing to perceived failures by Merkel and the EU. But thats wrong. When Yanukovych cut a deal with Putin shortly before the summit, most western capitals where just happy, because they were keen to avert any conflict with Moscow. Putin was happy, Yanukovych was happy, the west was happy. But Ukrainians were not happy. It was the EuroMaidan which led to the conflict: civil society in Ukraine standing up against the corrupt regime of Yanukovych, destroying the countries best hope for reform and renewal, which is EU association. It was people power vs corrupt Moscow-backed elites. The conflict was probably inevitable, as Putin thinks of Ukraine as a satellite. He doesnt accept that Ukraine is a sovereign state. But Ukraine does not accept this inferior status, the more as this means bad governance and no chance to build a decent, prosperous, free country. Perhaps the west should have told Putin that there would be a tough response, and perhaps that might have made him think twice. But it seems that Putin was ready to sacrifice good relations, in order to keep Ukraine in the Russian orbit. The Spiegel analysis is very superficial, and it seems that someone there was keen to blame the EU and Merkel for the conflict.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 10:00:45 +0000