By Sanxuan
After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU is once again facing an energy crisis. In this context, the attitudes of EU countries towards Russia have shown varying degrees of division. However, no one expected that the first country to publicly call for reconciliation with Russia would be Belgium.
Belgian Prime Minister De Croo
Belgian Prime Minister De Croo recently said in an interview that it's time for the EU to normalize relations with Russia, which is a common knowledge known to all member states, but no one dares to say it directly as he does. In private, everyone holds the same view.
He then added that although the EU should push for the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they cannot be too naive towards Putin and completely let their guard down.
De Croo pointed out that the EU must realize a harsh reality: if the US does not support Ukraine as fully as during the Biden era, the EU alone cannot sustain Ukraine's continued fighting, let alone severely hit Russia's economy through sanctions.
Therefore, after eliminating all impossible scenarios, the only remaining option, whether the EU accepts it or not, is to find a way to reach an agreement with Russia.
Russian oil
The problem now is that even in negotiations, the US is not standing on the same side as Ukraine. Trump seems to be very indulgent towards Putin, willing to meet most of his demands at the expense of Ukraine's interests.
At the same time, the EU is not allowed to directly participate in the negotiations and can only learn about the progress through reports from the US and Ukraine. If this trend continues, the final result is likely to be that the US and Russia force Ukraine to accept a bad ceasefire agreement, while Europe remains unable to take part.
From the EU's perspective, De Croo's words are correct. However, Trump's favoritism towards Putin is not entirely based on personal feelings. Objectively speaking, Ukraine is in a passive position, as the Ukrainian army is on the defensive on the battlefield. The third party mediating cannot force the stronger party to accept the weaker party's conditions, which is against common sense.
Putin and Trump
De Croo's bold remarks quickly sparked controversy within the EU. The first to raise opposition was his foreign minister, Prevoo. They belong to different parties, so differing opinions are normal.
Prevoo stated that he supports negotiating with Russia, but this does not mean the EU should reconcile with Russia. Once the request for normalization of relations is raised, it would send a "weak signal" to Putin, which would undoubtedly weaken European unity.
This is also the view of most EU politicians. They want to end the conflict through negotiations, but they do not want Russia to get what it wants. Instead, they hope the conflict ends under favorable conditions for Ukraine—this is just wishful thinking.
Of course, this is just the Europeans' own wishes. No matter how much they argue behind closed doors, it cannot affect the decisions of the US and Russia. The reason why the Europeans are willing to make their internal differences public is, in fact, to attract attention, a way to get involved.
The EU is unwilling to lower its stance
Whether or not to reconcile with Russia is not something the EU can decide unilaterally. Even if they are willing to lower their pride, Putin may not give them the opportunity. Now that global energy markets are short, Russian oil and gas are not hard to sell. The EU, with its picky buyers, may not be a desirable trading partner for Russia.
It is worth noting that Zelensky clearly opposes the EU purchasing Russian oil, saying it is a blackmail and betrayal to Ukraine. With so many obstacles ahead, the path to reconciliation between Russia and the EU is still long.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7618052164480549418/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.