The main message from the Atlantic Alliance to Kyiv about the possibility of negotiating with Moscow the end of the war remains (“only when, how and if Ukraine decides so”) but given the signs of fatigue in public opinion in some countries Europeans due to the duration of the conflict and rumors about possible peace plans that foresee dividing the country, its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, yesterday felt the need to highlight the achievements obtained on the battlefield by the Ukrainian army since the invasion began , even though the front line has barely moved in months. This, however, does not imply that, for now, NATO is encouraging Kyiv to negotiate.
“Last year Ukraine won battles in Kyiv, Kharkov and Kherson. This year, it continues to inflict serious losses on Russia. Ukraine has recovered 50% of the territory that Russia occupied and has survived as a sovereign, independent nation. It is a great victory for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg emphasized in a press conference prior to the meeting of allied foreign ministers that begins today in Brussels. “We must not forget how this conflict began at the beginning of the war,” he added. We feared that Ukraine would collapse in weeks and that President Vladimir Putin would control Kyiv in a few days but this did not happen.”
Asked about the proliferation of information about possible plans to end the war through transfers of territory (the German newspaper Bild spoke last week of a German-American proposal, not confirmed by the parties, which would include giving up Crimea, currently anathema to Kiyv), Stoltenberg remained faithful to the message that they will reiterate today to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba: his Government can count on allied help "in the long term" and only he can decide how far to go in his resistance.
“It is up to Ukraine to decide what are acceptable ways to end this war. Our responsibility is to support Ukraine, allow them to liberate as much territory as possible and put them in the best possible position if negotiations were to begin," but, for the moment, "there are no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace, rather at "On the contrary," said Stoltenberg, who highlighted the high material and human losses suffered by Putin and, above all, the failure in "his strategic objective of controlling Ukraine."
In a recorded phone call broadcast by Russian comedians posing as the president of the African Union Commission, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently admitted that there is “fatigue” regarding the war in Ukraine. “To tell the truth, we could be close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out” so that the war does not last “years,” ventured Meloni, who said he had “some ideas” to resolve it.
Different delegations yesterday ruled out that this is the time to pressure President Volodimir Zelensky to sit down and negotiate with Putin. “It would be quite inadvisable, they are not in the best situation,” say allied sources. It is simply, they argue, “too soon” in view of the fact that Moscow has not shown signs of knowing what it wants or being willing to give in, they add in another delegation, which demands to keep a cool head.
In today's meeting, Sweden will once again participate as a "guest" and not as a full partner despite the fact that when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally sent the documents in September to ratify its membership in NATO, the allies They unofficially set the goal that the procedure be concluded in time for this ministerial meeting. Finland, which requested entry at the same time a year and a half ago, is already in, but Ankara continues to drag its feet with Sweden, now due to the statements of the far-right leader, Jimmie Akesson, who advocated “demolishing” all the mosques in the country. . Stoltenberg yesterday defended freedom of expression and religion as allied values and asked the Turkish Parliament to act now. “Sweden has fulfilled its promise and the time has come for Turkey to complete the process.”
