Three months later, here it is again. After an express visit to London, Paris and Brussels in February, Volodymyr Zelensky hit the road again for an express tour of the Old Continent. The Ukrainian president at war has traveled to Paris, Berlin and Rome. Before joining London on Monday and saying he is confident about “very important decisions”, namely the delivery of combat aircraft that he has been asking for months. On the military level, the Ukrainian head of state wants to ensure the support of Western heavyweights and to extract new promises of donations of equipment. At the diplomatic level, the visit of the warlord Zelensky whets the appetites. As four months ago, the heads of state want to show themselves with the former comedian, who is campaigning ardently for Ukraine to join the European Union. France wants to help “Ukraine to continue its path towards the Euro-Atlantic family”, declared President Macron on Sunday evening, as if to reassure his counterpart.
Can the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky unite the various European powers? Elements of response with Federico Santopinto, research director at Iris, specializing in European integration in defense and foreign policy.
Rome, Paris, Berlin, London… Are the stages of Zelensky’s diplomatic journey equal? Are some more important?
The first trip was to Italy. Why there? Among the major Western countries, Italy is the country that is the most reluctant to war. There is an increasingly critical opposition to arms transfers. It is no longer simply the 5 stars who are hostile to it, but also the new secretary of the Democratic Party who did not oppose frontally but she comes from a pacifist culture. It is perhaps the most fragile country on the European level in its support for Ukraine. In my opinion, he came to Rome to address public opinion, more than Meloni herself, who is pro-Ukraine.
Can these various visits by Zelensky unify European countries in their support for kyiv?
It’s a bit like a game of dominoes. Zelensky makes his market, he plays his role to have the most military and economic support from Europeans. For me, it was in his interest to go to Italy, and to Germany. Except that when Zelensky last came to Europe, Macron had invited Scholz to the Elysée Palace, the two countries must show relative unity, so the Ukrainian president must go to France. Then after in the United Kingdom, which wants to reaffirm its support. We are in a small European telenovela.
How important is visiting the Vatican on this tour?
Zelensky’s visit to the Pope is symbolic but does not upset the diplomatic situation. The Vatican has a position that is not aligned with that of the West, Pope Francis is not European and has a different sensibility. He has a dogmatic vision of war, focused on the peaceful side.