Originally appeared at A-specto, translated by Borislav exclusively for SouthFront
Brussels once again displayed that it revolves completely in the orbit of the “party of war” in Washington. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini called on UN Member States to introduce sanctions against Russia. Something more, she urged them to use as a model the sanctions imposed on the Kremlin by Brussels and Washington. The EU continues the policy of non-recognition of the accession of Crimea to Russia. The funniest part is that Federica Mogherini said: “The EU reiterates its call on the Member States of the UN to consider similar measures (sanctions) for recognition in accordance with the resolution №68 / 262 General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations.” The cited resolution GA of the UN is from March 27, 2014 and has no legal force, unlike the resolutions of the United Nations security Council. It is obvious that EU’s roads and Moscow diverge over time. On this occasion, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said: “We have to read successive reports that the European Union or the United States is addressing the removal of sanctions, and then suddenly sanctions are automatically extended. I think we should lose interest in this. We have to stop caring about what they say in Brussels and Washington in terms of sanctions. It should be understood that there will always be sanctions when it comes to us.” The degree of pressure from the United States on the Euro bureaucrats should not be exaggerated. For a long time now we observe in Brussels, a stable Russo-phobic consensus.
Federica Mogherini, who was known in the not so far past as a “sympathizer” of the Kremlin, announced something like a “EU Program consisting of 5 points on the bilateral relations between the EU and the Russian Federation.” That is to say, Federica Mogherini defined five principles of Brussels, which will be implemented in EU policy toward Russia.
The First principle: implementing all conditions of the agreement “Minsk-2”. Federica Mogherini noted that the EU does not recognize the entry of Crimea within the Russian Federation. The Euro bureaucrats did not miss the opportunity to slightly spoil the festive mood of the Russians just before the celebration of the historical unification of the peninsula to Russia. Frederica Mogherini stressed: “The European Union reiterates that it does not recognize, and continues to condemn this violation of international law. This is a direct challenge to international security, leaving serious consequences for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all states.” It seems that Federica Mogherini is suffering from selective amnesia.
How do we interpret her moralizing speech against the bandit dismemberment of Yugoslavia? Has Federica Mogherini forgotten that the NATO bombers who threw their deadly load on bridges, the Television in Belgrade, and on other Yugoslav cities and villages, killing innocent children, women and old people, departed from airports situated on the territory of her birth place – Italy?
Her concern for the observance of international law and “deep concern at the increase in military power and the deterioration of the situation of human rights in Crimea” also sound cynical. Kremlin’s answer was not late. The Press Secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov said in response to the demarche from the EU that “Crimea is not a subject of international negotiations.” He added: “This is a region of the Russian Federation. Russia has not discussed and will never discuss her regions with anyone.” The State Department of Russia also commented on the words of Federica Mogherini: “We are surprised by the (18 March 2016) statement of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and politics security, on behalf of the EU concerning Crimea. It is filled with arrogant disrespect for more than two million people in the Crimean Federal District of Russia”. Lets not forget that on March 16, 2014 in a national referendum in Crimea and Sevastopol there voted 96.77% of the inhabitants of the peninsula and 95.6% of the residents in Sevastopol “to unite with Russia”.
The Euro bureaucrats consider that the accession of Crimea to Russia, an assault on the results achieved in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR. The Brussels officials are generally far greater Euro-Atlanticist than the national European elites. The Russian Federation with its RAF (Russian Aerospace Forces) broke the monopoly of NATO in the application of air-force power. And this is a huge sin in the eyes of Washington and Brussels! Crimea in the future will be a “constant” in the relations between the Kremlin and the West. The current status of the Crimean Peninsula will accelerate the return of the Cold War in its second and expanded edition.
The Second principle: the EU will not abandon its plans to strengthen its relations with the countries of the “Eastern Partnership” and the countries of Central Asia. It is important to note that in the initiative are already included the countries of Central Asia. In the previous edition, when Kristian Vigenin from BSP was leading at the European Parliament, the ambitions of Brussels stretched to Azerbaijan and Armenia. Today the renewed “Eastern Partnership” has a projection to the Chinese borders. It is not clear with what money will Brussels serve in the role of a geopolitical “tool” in Washington’s plans to encircle the Russian Federation with satellite-nations.
The Third principle: increasing the “internal stability of the EU” concerning energy and strategic communications. So in addition to energy, there is also the so called project “countering Russian propaganda.” It is not clear how Brussels will get their energy balance without Russian natural gas. As for “Moscow’s propaganda,” I guess we will see Brussels start working with the familiar communist methods from the recent past. Why not put “silencers” on television RT, as radio “Free Europe” was muffled in the past.
The Fourth principle: renewing cooperation with Moscow “in some selected areas.” In foreign policy, Brussels believes that this could be the following areas: the Syrian issue, relations with Iran, the problems with the DPRK. “Cooperation is also possible in other areas where it will meet the interests of the EU,” stressed Federica Mogherini. A Selective approach. As if Russia stands in eternal conciliation and expects the whims of the EU. What the EU has still not understood is that Russia can also pick and chose. It is a self-sufficient state and it can not be chosen for this or that.
The Fifth principle: the pursuit of EU to “support the development of civil society in Russia” and “investing in people to people contacts”. This principle seems to be the “basis for subsequent negotiations between the EU and Russia,” as Federica Mogherini stated. Just amazing. Stupendous underestimation of the Russians by the Euro-bureaucrats. Once again using the “third basket of the Helsinki Act-1975”, with which the West destroyed the USSR and attempting to re-use this formula, speaks of the intellectual weakness of Brussels. Its not surprising. The level of knowledge in the EU is rapidly falling. Recently a player in the competition “Become a Millionaire” on French television declared that “the sun revolves around the Earth.” 56% of audience confirmed it by voting. Making investments in Russian “paid adepts” after the deafening failure of the Ukrainian Euro-happiness, is ought-right insane. And all this against the backdrop of negotiations with Turkey, which “wants to enter the European democratic club without any respect neither for the values nor the rules”, as claimed Alexander Del Val from the French edition “Atlantico”. He believes that with respect to Ankara: “Europe is on track to sell its soul for geopolitical reasons, due to pressure from NATO and from mercantile and imperial Germany”.
Recently in Moscow, the former head of the European Commission Romano Prodi, who has always been friendly prone to the Kremlin, stated: “For Europe, Russia is a market, a supplier of energy resources, and one more thing – a partner”. Truthful, clear and concise. First a market. Then a supplier. Finally a foreign policy partner. Absolute cynicism. However, Brussels no longer has the resources to behave snobbish, unmeasured and careless with the Russian Federation.