What would change for Europe if Biden defended the Crimea? Also on Nord Stream 2 …

“Seven years ago from today, Russia violated international law, the rules according to which modern nations abide by each other, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring Ukraine when it invaded Crimea.” Until Friday the president Joe Biden He reiterated US support for Ukraine with A note published by the White House. The United States continues to stand with Ukraine and its allies and partners today, as it has done since the beginning of this conflict. On this bleak memory, we reaffirm a simple fact: Crimea is Ukraine. “

During his speech at the Munich Security Conference, Biden, who played a key role in the US alliance with Ukraine against Russian aggression, declared that Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “is of vital importance.” To Washington, but also to the European Union. Statements accepted by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskyWho thanked Biden, hinting at hope for greater cooperation with the United States after tensions with the former president Donald Trump: “This is the goal of a true strategic partnership. Ukrainians value highly the US support: from territorial integrity to strengthening defense capabilities and implementing reforms. United, we remain standing – division we fall.” He tweeted.

So the White House changes the record (even after Trump attempts to “frame” Biden at the Kiev Gate). During the G7 for 2018, it also revealed BuzzFeedTrump described Ukraine as “one of the most corrupt countries in the world” and told other leaders that Crimea is Russian because its residents speak Russian. On the contrary, his foreign minister, Mike Pompeo, Has repeatedly stated that the United States will never accept Russia’s annexation of the peninsula. If the White House shifts, there is continuity in Foggy Bottom. In fact, Biden chose second place in American diplomacy Victoria KnowlandAn old diplomat who became famous for “damn the European Union” during the Ukrainian crisis, in the days when Washington worked to keep Ukraine in Russia’s hands, while Europeans demanded “dialogue”, almost afraid of Moscow.

Biden’s agenda for Ukraine also affects the European Union (especially Germany), as demonstrated by his analysis Benjamin Schmidt For the Atlantic Council. The expert confirms how the stop in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can be used as a “lever” by Washington and Brussels to demand more guarantees from Moscow on various files, including the security of Ukraine and the Crimea peninsula. “This would allow Ukraine to have a more stable security posture on the ground, so that if Nord Stream 2 is completed and the Kremlin has already used the pipeline to bypass Ukraine, it will at least be more flexible with this movement than it is today,” Schmidt explains.