And it is to Russia to decide? 😂
Russia and America seemingly. Not sure who voted America in as Ukraine’s proxy
probably a couple hundred billion dollars got 'em in the door.
Why they think they can negitoate without the country they’re talking about, though - well that’s just demented and incompetent idiots freshly elected by stuipd, mouth-breathing, cloven-hooved, morons and their entire families.
It’s undoubtedly part of some sleazy plan to screw over Ukraine for the demented rapist’s BFF.
Russia has a sovereign right to gargle my balls
That’s a rather odd change of tone since the statement not only definitively states that Ukraine is a sovereign nation but it also outright encourages EU membership for Ukraine which comes with a similar military defense guaranty to NATO, though importantly it of course does not come with US backing. At a guess I would say that they are trying to preemptively position themselves as the “reasonable” party in the upcoming (on-going?) negotiations.
This isn’t a new position. Putin has already said years back that he doesn’t care if Ukraine joins the EU.
Now that Trump’s plan to seize 50% of Ukraine’s mineral deposits has leaked, Putin might be more worried about the USA/NATO/“the west” getting “all” of Ukraine and Russia getting nothing. So if he backs off from wanting to seize Ukrainian territory, he can push for “Ukrainian sovereignty” to prevent the USA from turning Ukraine into a vassal state.
Am I remembering wrong or isn’t there something like NATO’s article 5 in the EU?
Yes, but it doesn’t apply to the USA, and the rest of us don’t scare Russia. Our priority should be to change this.
Russia’s economy is smaller than Italy’s. If we wanted to defend ourselves, we very well could.
Please do, the EU scaring Russia and being able to stand on its own without NATO would be a good thing for democracies everywhere
It does and the actual wording is in my opinion a bit stronger in the EU guarantee, but I believe politically it’s viewed as much weaker since the EU is fundamentally a economic/trade union and not a military one like NATO. That is to say, the EU could still exist without such a clause, but for NATO it’s the entire reason for the organization to be.
EU: “obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in [the member state’s] power”
NATO: “such action as [the member state] deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area”
Thing is though EU membership for Ukraine is still a ways off because there’s still quite a lot of homework to do. A solution is needed now (better, five years ago), and that would mean a European defence treaty not limited to the EU. Also we want the UK to be part of it, anyway and, right now, while we’re at it, let’s make sure Canada is in.
until it’s tested, i’d guess states could say that “all the means” could be read with relation to trade and economics and other things governed by the EU
Make Russia Small Again
