Confusion, indecision and bickering characterise current western policy towards the Ukraine war and the threat to Europe from Russia. Last week’s hastily convened summit in Paris was meant to provide new direction and momentum to allied efforts. Yet its host, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, gazumped himself by raising the controversial prospect of sending Nato troops to join the Ukraine fight. Meanwhile, a vital US aid package for Kyiv remains frozen amid partisan in-fighting in Congress.
Did Macron deliberately provoke a row? Probably. He has a history of lobbing verbal hand grenades, then placing his fingers in his ears. His 2019 assertion that Nato was “experiencing brain death” was explosive. But his warning – that Europe must seize control of its destiny because the Americans may no longer be relied on – is more relevant than ever in light of Donald Trump’s statements that, if president again, he would “encourage” a Russian attack on European Nato countries that displease him.
