Baltic politicians have criticized French and German leaders for discussing with Russian President Vladimir Putin how to unblock Ukrainian ports, highlighting divergent views among Western allies on how to handle diplomacy with Moscow.
Eastern European leaders have become uneasy about the willingness of their Western European counterparts to speak with Putin, which has rekindled suspicion that some EU countries are pushing Kyiv to cede territory to Putin. end the war.
“It’s amazing how the leaders of France and Germany are unwittingly paving the way for new acts of violence by Russia. How is it possible that neither Paris nor Berlin have learned from history? Why is Putin presumed to be Is Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, wondering if he is currently waging a war against a major European people?
Latvian Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks said on Twitter: “There seems to be a number of so-called Western leaders who have an explicit need for self-humiliation in combination with a total distancing from political reality.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron held an 80-minute phone call with Putin on Saturday in which the Russian president told them Moscow was ready to find ways to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports. Ukraine and could increase its own fertilizers and agriculture. exports if the relevant sanctions are lifted.
It comes two days after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also discussed the issue with Putin in an attempt to alleviate a global food crisis that especially threatens developing countries.
There is a growing rift between many Eastern European countries and countries like Germany and France over the wisdom of talking to Putin when the war enters its fourth month. The Baltic countries believe that these calls only give power to Putin and that, instead, Europe should send more weapons to Ukraine.
In the last three days, hundreds of ordinary Lithuanians have funded 5 million euros to buy a Turkish military drone for Ukraine, according to Internet broadcaster Laisves TV, which began fundraising.
Mihkelson, citing a phrase Macron used earlier to describe NATO, questioned whether French and German leaders were not “brain dead” in their actions.
He added: “Macron and Scholz should hang up and book a trip to Ukraine in a hurry. I hope their quirky actions are not motivated by fear of losing influence in a democratic Europe that Ukraine would surely enter after winning. the war “.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Sunday that Russia “must be isolated” as countries around the world such as India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and “little Taiwan” watched. what was happening in Ukraine with anxiety. “Giving the occupier a chance to occupy territory means it can be repeated elsewhere,” he added.
Putin, Scholz and Macron discussed whether a negotiated solution could be found to open Odessa to allow grain exports out of Ukraine, according to an Elysée briefing after the call.
French and German leaders “noticed the Russian president’s promise to allow ships to enter the port to export grain without Russia using it militarily, if the port was demining in advance,” according to the conference.
Some Western capitals fear that the impending food crisis and its devastating impact on poor households in Africa and the Middle East could trigger a new wave of migration to Europe.
Kristi Raik, head of the Estonian Institute of Foreign Policy, said French and German leaders risked giving legitimacy to “Putin’s unacceptable lies and demands.”
He added: “I do not share the view that any Western leader should ever speak to Putin. But the way Macron and Scholz do it is not only useless, it is deeply counterproductive.”