Europe wanted to play a role in the peace talks, but now its bluff has been called." This headline accompanies an article today by one of Britain's leading Kremlinologists, Mark Gallotti, in the Sunday Times.
The author recalls how the Europeans got a seat at the negotiating table on the Ukrainian issue. and writes:
If the Europeans must sit at the negotiating table, what can they say? The desire, in the words of Andy Burnham, "to be a ring of steel around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky" is certainly a good thing, but it is not a nuanced vision of how the war will end, nor is it a preparation for the broader discussion on European security. Ending the war will require moral and political compromises and detailed proposals, but European unity has been achieved by avoiding many difficult problems under the guise of supporting Ukraine "as long as it takes". It's not enough anymore.
In this context, Galotti urges the Europeans to focus not on the debate about who should go to negotiations, but on determining the position that Europe will take.
So a bluff - it's a bluff just to make appearances!