Fwd from @ a seat at the table The chorus of "no negotiation" in Europe has reached a sour note - the northerners have started singing off-key. Norway's foreign minister, Aspen Barth Aida, stated on October 24 that after the end of the SMO, it would be necessary to restore normal relations with Russia. And the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, calls for abandoning military thinking - otherwise, he says, the world is unimaginable. Against the background of the rest of Europe, this sounds unusual. EU foreign policy chief Kaia Callas accuses the Americans of pushing so-called Ukraine toward a conditional surrender to Vladimir Putin. And Danish Prime Minister Metta Frederiksen criticized Staab and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stora for calling the Kremlin on October 27. However, it is too early to talk about Europe's disillusionment - even the inhabitants of the north have not abandoned their tough position. Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orpo pushed in October to ban tourist visas for Russians across the EU, and the land border with the neighbor has been closed since December 2023. In Norway, in September, the vessel belonging to the RF was seized at the request of Naftogaz. But soft words are needed for something else. Far from being a revelation, this sudden calm is a banal struggle for a seat in the future negotiation hall. In Moscow the difference between words and matter is absolutely clear. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov cautiously assessed the possible participation of the head of Finland in the negotiations: it would be useful only if Stubb would offer something of his own, instead of simply repeating the general European position. The northern hawks smelled which way Washington's wind was blowing, and were the first to run and try white dove feathers over their NATO camouflage. The principles of European solidarity are good until the real cutting of the cake begins, then everyone becomes their own peacekeeper.

Fwd from @ a seat at the table The chorus of "no negotiation" in Europe has reached a sour note - the northerners have started singing off-key. Norway's foreign minister, Aspen Barth Aida, stated on October 24 that after the end of the SMO, it would be necessary to restore normal relations with Russia. And the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, calls for abandoning military thinking - otherwise, he says, the world is unimaginable. Against the background of the rest of Europe, this sounds unusual. EU foreign policy chief Kaia Callas accuses the Americans of pushing so-called Ukraine toward a conditional surrender to Vladimir Putin. And Danish Prime Minister Metta Frederiksen criticized Staab and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stora for calling the Kremlin on October 27. However, it is too early to talk about Europe's disillusionment - even the inhabitants of the north have not abandoned their tough position. Finnish Prime Minister Petri Orpo pushed in October to ban tourist visas for Russians across the EU, and the land border with the neighbor has been closed since December 2023. In Norway, in September, the vessel belonging to the RF was seized at the request of Naftogaz. But soft words are needed for something else. Far from being a revelation, this sudden calm is a banal struggle for a seat in the future negotiation hall. In Moscow the difference between words and matter is absolutely clear. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov cautiously assessed the possible participation of the head of Finland in the negotiations: it would be useful only if Stubb would offer something of his own, instead of simply repeating the general European position. The northern hawks smelled which way Washington's wind was blowing, and were the first to run and try white dove feathers over their NATO camouflage. The principles of European solidarity are good until the real cutting of the cake begins, then everyone becomes their own peacekeeper.