In terms of content, little came out of the 50-minute conversation between the presidents of Russia and the USA, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. Each side has reaffirmed its known positions on the Ukraine conflict. But Putin was very satisfied after the exchange – and has every reason to be. Because within a few hours, this virtual meeting was organized according to his request, it is already the second in December. This symbolism is important for the Kremlin: Putin dictated, Biden reacted. Linked to this is the signal that Russia is once again being perceived and taken seriously as a superpower, that Moscow has a direct line to Washington.
The rulers in the Kremlin have achieved what they wanted: attention. The march of tens of thousands of soldiers on the border with Ukraine in the past few weeks was intended to awaken memories of the Crimean conflict in 2014 and the annexation of the peninsula by Russia at the time – accompanied by appropriate combat rhetoric and threatening gestures.
As a result of the military and verbal armament, Putin and the Kremlin have received several invitations for appointments at the beginning of January in the past few days – for a “strategic security dialogue” with the USA, for a NATO-Russia Council and a meeting with the Permanent Council the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Putin can feel downright being courted.
There is no question that it is good that attempts are being made at the highest level to avoid an escalation of the conflict over Ukraine. That is also and especially in the interests of Europeans. Russia’s aggression against neighbors has been the biggest problem facing European security in recent times. But the fact that the US does not consider it necessary to involve the EU representative responsible for foreign policy is tantamount to snubbering the allies. After all, it is about central political and military issues in this region.
Diplomatic whimpering in Brussels
It not only sounds like diplomatic whimpering, but is at the same time an oath of revelation when the EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell complains, “We do not want to and must not be an uninvolved bystander whose heads are being decided”. But that’s exactly what happens – or is supposed to happen, if Putin has his way. The US President has already come too far to meet him by engaging in a conversation to the exclusion of the Europeans.
Because for Putin it is a powerful success that a direct conversation with Biden took place for the second time within a few days – at the request of the Kremlin. Because connected with this is the fateful message: The USA and Russia decide among themselves what happens in the rest of the world. At best, the Europeans are called in by Washington; even if it concerns them directly. This is reminiscent of the Cold War and contradicts Biden’s announcement that he would rely on multilateralism.
Putin doesn’t take the EU seriously, Biden ignores it
Putin is not just about Ukraine, he wants to stop NATO expansion altogether. That touches on a central question of European security policy. In the person of Josep Borrell, there is a foreign representative who speaks for the international community of Europeans. This means that the telephone number required by the former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger exists, which you can dial when you want to talk to Europe. But Putin does not take the EU seriously – the duping by his Foreign Minister Lavrov von Borrell during his visit to Moscow has not been forgotten. And Biden does the same by simply ignoring the Europeans’ right to have a say.
This great power-typical approach by Putin and Biden shows that the EU still does not have enough weight to be perceived as a geopolitical power. If the Europeans do not want to become the pawn of rival great powers, they must represent their interests more robustly.