Yesterday the summit of the main European countries in Paris was staged. Convened urgently by Macron, he substantially reiterated the impotence of the old continent in the new global chessboard. The American vice -president Vance was right: the EU is crumbling. But the first managers are not external enemies, but endogenous factors. Nothing relevant was decided in the French capital. The heads of state present have continued to repeat the leitmotiv of these years: the budget to be allocated to the defense must be increased. Yes, but then? On the troops to be sent to Kiev they remain divisions: the German Scholz, in the middle of the election campaign, brakes and is said to be irritated by the debate; On the same line the Poland of Donald Tusk. While the British Keir Starmer is ready to deploy contingents in Ukraine.
Today the spotlight will be focused on Saudi Arabia. The meeting between the US and Russian delegations began a little while ago. Will the heat of the desert cause the beam? You don’t expect great steps forward. Also because today there is no representative of Ukraine. As several analysts report, Trump’s goal is to conclude first bilateral negotiations. And only after sitting around a table both the Kremlin and Kiev. The choice of Saudi Arabia is not accidental. The new US administration sees the two conflicts that hold the world with suspended breath intertwined. From Europe to Gaza you have to find solutions that report Washington internationally. And Riad is the perfect place for the occasion. The kingdom led by Mohammed Bin Salman entertains excellent relations with Moscow; Just think that he never joined the penalties against Putin. But not only. Saudi Arabia was the pivot of Abraham agreements, that is, that attempt to normalize the relationship between moderate Arab countries and Israel, which took place not by chance under the first Trump presidency. The common enemy remains Iran. But the fate of the Palestinians may emerge divergences.
Recently, however, the talks have begun. Russia is the foreign minister Lavrov, the presidential assistant Yuri Ushakov as well as the head of the Kirill Dmitriev sovereign fund. For the USA, however, there will be Marco Rubio, secretary of state, Steve Witkoff, a special correspondent for the Middle East and the Mike Waltz National Security Councilor. Great absent Zelensky. The president said he was not “aware” of the talks, reproaching Washington to “please Putin”. As for the Kremlin, today’s meeting will be an opportunity to end the “abnormal period” in the relationships between the “two great powers”. For the United States, however, the interviews represent a first step to understand if Russia is “serious” in wanting to end the conflict that broke out in 2022.
A little while ago a declaration of the spokesman Dmitri Peskov arrived: Putin would be ready to talk to Zelensky if necessary. However, he wants to underline Peskov, a “global long -term conflict solution is impossible without dealing with the security issues that affect the whole of Europe”. The Cremlin spokesman added that it is still not clear if and when a meeting between Trump and Putin will take place.
But Peskov’s claims don’t end there. Speaking with journalists, he made it clear that “Russia is not against the adhesion of Ukraine to the European Union” as it does not consider it a “threat to its safety”. And he added: “This is the sovereign law of any country. We are talking about integration and economic processes. Nobody can dictate law to no country”. However, the Cremlin spokesman wanted to reiterate that the position of the Russian Federation on “issues related to safety, defense or military alliances is completely different”. “There is a problem there, and it is well known to everyone,” he concluded in a peremptory way.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has declared that the delegations They took a short break from the interviews. The spokesman Maria Zakharova said that, once the meeting is finished, the declarations will follow to the media.
China is also expressed on the riad summit. Beijing hopes that all parties involved in the conflict “will be able to participate in debt -time peace talks”. The spokesman for the Dragon’s Foreign Ministry said “happy to see all the efforts in the direction of peace”.
And Zelensky? While Russians and Americans discuss Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian president flies to Turkey. Direction Ankara. The meeting with Erdogan will take place later. The two subsequently will hold a joint press conference.
Maria Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, noticed “A nervous, if not panic, of the West of the contacts between Russia and the United States”. Contacts that, according to Zakharova, “are causing a real hysteria among the Euro -Freeting Russian”.
Meanwhile, Riad’s meeting is aimed at the end. Lasting more than four hours, he also understood a working lunch among the delegations. Further information is awaited.
