Timed nicely with renewed British policy proposals, such as that published by RU.S.I, for Europe to enforce a no-fly zone over most of Ukraine and otherwise vector towards a direct military confrontation with Russia, a string of European politicians are stepping forward with bright ideas for how to best get into a shooting war with Russia, sooner rather than later.
Leading the way over the weekend was Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who told London’s The Guardian in an interview published on Sept. 20, that security guarantees for Ukraine would compel the European countries that sign to fight Russia, if Moscow launched military action against Kiev again in future. “Security guarantees in essence are a deterrent. That deterrent has to be plausible, and in order for it to be plausible, it has to be strong,” Stubb said in Helsinki before travelling to New York for the UN General Assembly.
He said the guarantees would only come into effect after a future deal between Ukraine and Russia, but insisted that Russia would have no veto over their format. “Russia has absolutely no say in the sovereign decisions of an independent nation state. … So for me it’s not an issue will Russia agree or not. Of course they won’t, but that’s not the point,” he said.
Senator Aleksey Pushkov, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s Commission on Information Policy, pointed out in response to Stubb that there’s no solution to the Ukraine conflict without Russia’s agreement. “If Russia had no say, Trump wouldn’t have met with Putin in Alaska. It’s clear to the whole world that without Russia’s consent, there will be no resolution to the Ukrainian crisis, since the terms of a settlement directly affect its security. This is clear to everyone, except, apparently, Stubb” Pushkov wrote on his Telegram channel.
