Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Western leaders told each other that Ukraine will not be able to win the war once morest Russia. He was advised to start peace talks with Moscow later this year in exchange for close cooperation with NATO.
The private meetings of the heads of state contrast with their official statements, in which they continue to support Ukraine’s aspirations.
“Behind the good-sounding public speeches, there are certainly growing doubts. British, French and German politicians doubt that the Ukrainian government will be able to repel Russian offensives. According to their views, the Western countries cannot continue this way for long, especially if a hopeless stalemate develops”can be read in the report of The Wall Street Journal.
“We keep saying that Russia shouldn’t win, but what does that really mean? If the war continues at this intensity, Ukraine’s losses will be irreversible. No one believes that they will get the Crimea back”a French official explained.
Will Zelensky listen to the advice of Western leaders?
During their February meeting with Zelenskyi, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz raised the idea of peace negotiations with the Ukrainian head of state. According to the American daily, Macron told Zelensky that “even arch-enemies like France and Germany made peace following the Second World War”. He then admitted that the Ukrainian president is a great military leader, but sooner or later he will have to change his attitude. He must come forward as a statesman who puts the interests of his country first and, in light of this, does not shy away from difficult decisions.
During the course of last week, the Western leaders reached a common denominator regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict within the framework of the Munich security policy conference. They all believe that the creation of peace is the greatest need at the moment.
Petr Pavel, the elected president of the Czech Republic and former commander of NATO, looks at the situation with a realistic approach. According to him, the Ukrainian government should reevaluate the consequences of each outcome and strive to ensure that the country and its population suffer as little damage as possible. In addition, he also said that the aggression shown once morest Russia does not lead to much good and that NATO does not want to get into a conflict with the Russians.
At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg surprised many with what he said in a recent interview. Kerek-perec stated that the war in question had already started in 2014, since NATO allies have been helping Ukraine militarily since then.
Does anyone really care regarding peace?
The differences of opinion between NATO and Russia go back a long time and do not exactly reflect the pro-peace approach that the intergovernmental organization is trying to present. Even before invading Ukraine, Russia informed NATO several times that it had crossed that certain imaginary border more than once. By installing missiles in Poland and Romania, supplying Ukraine with weapons, and expanding eastwards, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has quite enraged the Russian government.
However, in the 1 year that has passed since the outbreak of the invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders seem to have come to a different opinion. For example, in Munich, Macron completely rejected the Russian regime change by force.
America has not yet responded to the allegations published in The Wall Street Journal. Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, said He toldthat they will provide armed assistance to Ukraine in the future and even following the war. He never mentioned the peace talks.
Although, NATO encourages Ukraine to make peace, only to arm the country even more in return. This is in no way in Russia’s interest, so it will probably prefer to stick to the war, making peace impossible.
