Fairly speaking: Petr Pavel calls for a joint European army. Trump's conversation with Putin gives credence to the intention.
After the negotiated talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, in which nothing was agreed upon, quite a lot was expected from the conversation between President Trump and Kremlin leader Putin. The question hung in the air whether even Trump had lost patience with Russia obstructing his peace efforts. Unfortunately, nothing has changed and the American president once again just nodded everything off to Putin. The Czech president and former general Petr Pavel is right in the need to establish a common European army and how to do it.
American senators have come up with a proposal for duties higher than the greatest advocate of tariffs at the White House has ever dreamed of. Up to 500% could be levied on countries that import oil from Russia. Today, the main importers of this commodity are the two most populous countries in the world, known primarily as manufacturers of the cheapest textiles.
If this intention were to become effective, maybe they would refrain from buying the cheaply bought black gold in India and China, because it would mean the end of their exports on which the economy of these countries is dependent.
Trump finally understood Putin and backed down
The proposal was not made by any Democrats, but by Republicans led by Lindsey Graham. The proposal was commented: "Our goal is to support the president." The graying American senator may suspect that those who flatter Trump may also get his audience.
Putin, the Kremlin ruler, also got an ear at The White House tenant over the weekend. He danced with a call for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. When it was heard, no Kremlin government politician, let alone Putin himself, went to the talks, making it clear that the talks would lead nowhere.
Even two hours of "great conversation" between Trump and Putin on the phone led nowhere. Even with half the time holding a phone, cramps are setting in and apart from lovesick teenagers, few of us probably remember the last time we were on the phone for two hours. Sure, few of us are presidents, but at the diplomatic level such a length of a conversation is not usual.
The result of the extraordinary conversation, according to Putin, were plans to conclude a memorandum on peace negotiations. Translated into human language: we chatted and didn't solve anything.
"Perhaps it was the moment when Trump finally understood Putin as someone who really isn't seeking his approval or loyalty, and backed off. If so, then the United States also retreated by decades, when they decided on everything, admitted the boundaries of their focus and power, and left the most important peace agreement since the 1940s to the clergy in the Vatican,"
Nick Paton Walsh summed up the expected negotiations between statesmen for CNN.
Pavel wants a joint European army in NATO, Vatican miracles are still in play
Even before this meeting, the Czech President Petr Pavel mentioned the necessity of building a joint European army within NATO. Strategic plans concerning the threat from Russia are being conceived at NATO's leadership. While doing so, the key hegemon engagingly chats for two "great" hours with the leader of the ruling Russian regime.
Trump's attitude towards NATO differs drastically, merrily disrupting the unity of this block. Coincidentally, this is the pact against which representatives of the Russian regime are speaking day and night, and against which they are, according to their own media, waging war in Ukraine.
It would be tempting to shift the EU's common policy towards security when the North Atlantic alliance's ship is taking on water, but the veto rights of member states do not allow for significant changes. Putin's Trojan horses in Hungary and Slovakia are happy to veto. That's why Pavel criticizes the veto right in the EU.
The ideas are indeed visionary. But their implementation is hardly achieved overnight. A conflict in Ukraine, which ties up Russian forces, won't be resolved with similar speed either. Even if peace negotiations accelerated and the war calmed down, after the latest negotiations, be it in Istanbul or telephonically, there's nothing to suggest that Russia would emerge from the war as a broken loser, as many wished in the past.
The idea with Vatican negotiations only highlights the reality. The situation can calm down by a miracle only and where else to occur than in a place where miracles are officially confirmed? Whoever doesn't want to rely on prayers, must start doing something, for now only Putin could rely on a stable genius.
Sources: author's text, commentary, ČTK, CNN, NBC, telegrafi.com
