The German Chancellor met with President Vladimir Putin, who is in charge of the regime waging war in Syria and Ukraine. Angela Merkel counts on an agreement ending the crisis in relations between the West and Russia, because she wants to make money on Nord Stream 2. Russians come out of isolation, symbolic of Putin’s symbolic dance at the wedding, Austria’s foreign minister. Will it be a danse macabre over the grave of the Atlantic world? – writes Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of BiznesAlert.pl.
Pushing Nord Stream 2
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that talks with Vladimir Putin should serve to settle disputes over Syria and Ukraine, with a discussion on the future of gas supplies through Ukraine. They are at risk of the Nord Stream 2 project, which Germany and Russia are jointly implementing. Merkel declared that deliveries through Ukraine must be maintained, and Putin reminded that they must be economically viable. Bilateral talks between Russia and Germany about Nord Stream 2 are pressure on the European Commission and Ukraine in a tripartite process with their participation and the Russian Federation, which gains support from Berlin in talks. Conversations in Germany can therefore be regarded as an external interference affecting the EU mechanisms that are to guarantee a rational system of supplies through the Ukrainian territory. The talks of politicians about Nord Stream 2 are a denial of the purely business nature of this investment, repeated by its supporters. It is worth noting that in Berlin there was no question of stopping or delaying Nord Stream 2. The second one, however, is possible due to the attitude of Denmark, which has not yet issued a decision regarding two route proposals through its territory. The assessment of the new option excluding Danish territorial waters may take up to a year, which was determined by BiznesAlert.pl.
A deal in the Middle East excluding US?
The Financial Times recalls that the chancellor counts on Russia’s support in rebuilding Syria and ending the refugee crisis. She sees a role for the dictator Bashar Assad in the future system of power in Damascus. The Germans also want to talk about the future of a nuclear agreement with Iran. The US wants a new deal and they are withdrawing from the old, which will bring back sanctions against Iranian oil exports that are attractive to Europeans. Talks in Berlin should be seen in the context of the meeting of US President Donald Trump with his Russian counterpart in Helsinki. Both meetings did not bring any conclusions. The Chancellor proposes a deal on Iran, which may reduce the role of the US and improve the position of the former KGB colonel. As a result of this rivalry, Trump and Merkel gave Putin a place at the table after several years of ostracism caused by aggression in Ukraine and Syria. Normalization, despite the lack of concessions in Ukraine and Syria, would be Russia’s success. For the time being, talks are underway on this subject and the process itself is beneficial for the Kremlin.
It is in the interest of countries like Poland to strengthen Community mechanisms in the EU and NATO, legitimize the role of the European Commission in relations with Russia and question the bilateral treaties of Germany and Russia regarding the region of Central and Eastern Europe. It is in Poland’s interest to further undermine the credibility of the Nord Stream 2 project, which is not decided yet. To do that, it is necessary to use relations with Washington, which leads an increasingly assertive policy towards Germany. The condition, however, is to defend a common European policy instead of strengthening the centrifugal tendencies provoked by the attitude of the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, it is important to strengthen the Three Seas, the initiative of Eastern Flank, cooperation in the LNG sector and infrastructure from the USA, i.e. support mechanisms, according to their potential and Polish diplomacy.
Wedding dance over the grave
In this context, Vladimir Putin’s visit to the marriage of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Karin Kneissel, is symbolically represented and their picture taken in a dance. If the West and Russia recapture with Russia at the expense of Syria and Ukraine, the public will be able to read the symbolic wedding dance as a danse macabre over the grave of the Atlantic world, which in the past tried to impose moral standards on the world. Courting for Putin’s favor between Trump and Merkel can lead to a new Yalta and a concert of powers that will undermine multilateral mechanisms from the European Union and NATO. This will be another element of the erosion of the international system based on the values and primacy of the transatlantic world. Will the Europeans dance the death dance on their own grave?