A US-Russian Kremlin expert and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg spoke at the Europe-Forum Wachau about the war in Ukraine and the status of EU candidate country. Schallenberg assumes that the country at war will take decades to join.
Her great-grandfather once ruled the Soviet Union and gave Crimea to Ukraine. In 2014, Vladimir Putin “reclaimed” the peninsula.
Six years later, the Russian president launched a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. A maneuver that the American-Russian political scientist Nina Khrushcheva had not expected in advance. The Kremlin expert does not believe in military victory for either side.
The situation in the war zone is too confused and Putin’s next steps are too unpredictable. “He sees himself as a historical figure in Russia. Negotiations will be the only way to end the war,” Khrushcheva said at the European Forum in Wachau. However, she sees positive signals from Europe to strengthen Ukraine’s position in any negotiations to end the war, if possible. .
The biggest of these signals was probably the European Union’s yes to Ukraine’s candidate status. According to Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, this recognition is “a clear and political sign”. However, this board is probably just the first step on a long road to membership. “I’m afraid we are talking about decades instead of years,” he revealed to “Krone” at the European Forum.
Because the accession processes would take too long, it must be ensured that people in these countries can already feel the benefits of the EU during the process. The minister therefore proposes a gradual integration of the candidate countries. In July, Schallenberg plans to visit Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev and deepen the talks. Both also agreed on the forum that they would like to meet for a glass of wine in the Wachau. It will be a while before this meeting takes place. For now, despite the EU’s approval, there is no reason to celebrate.
Source: Krone
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