“Oreshnik-itis” is a strange malady which began to spread across the EU in the aftermath of the Jan. 8 Russian attack against a military plant in Lviv, western Ukraine. The Oreshnik is a Russian hypersonic missile system which strikes its multiple targets at Mach 10, and is unstoppable by all existing missile defense systems. The malady is still under study by experts, but it usually presents as a combination of (very) wobbly knees, and a propensity for babbling.
Take the case of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who told the Jan. 15 New Year’s reception of the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce that the European Union would do well to “find a balance again with our largest European neighbor,” RT reported. “If we succeed, in the longer perspective, in finding a balance again with Russia, if there is peace … then we can look ahead with great confidence beyond the year 2026.”
This sounds somewhat different from the Merz who, until recently, insisted that Europe was “no longer in peace with Russia” and called for forcing “Putin down on his knees” on the battlefield, by seizing its assets to make him come to the negotiation table.
RT continued: “The German Chancellor’s apparent change of tack came days after the European Commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho stated that ‘obviously, at some point, there will have to be talks also with President Putin.’ Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for ‘properly’ restarting discussions with Moscow on the Ukraine conflict. ‘I think it will become useful again to speak with Vladimir Putin,’ he said…. Speaking last Friday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supported Macron’s diplomatic overtures toward Moscow. ‘I believe that the time has come for Europe to talk to Russia,’ she said.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the new French position by confirming that President Putin remained open to dialogue with Macron, noting, however, that Macron should not “give lectures,” but instead focus on “understanding each other’s positions.”
Peskov also responded positively to Trump’s latest flip in his flip-flops on Ukraine (the latest statement blaming Zelenskyy principally for the impasse), by saying: “President Putin and the Russian side remain open [to talks].”
