Weapons, money, NATO. What was the success of Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the European Tour
The question of historians of Ukrainian diplomacy - was there anything like his predecessors? Undoubtedly, now we have witnessed the extraordinary diplomatic activity of the head of the Ukrainian state. What was it called? Each particular visit had its own specific goals. For example, before a visit to Germany, President Zelensky outlined these goals very succinctly: "Weapons. A powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Safety.
" Similar goals, with some features of each particular country, were also during visits to Italy, France and the United Kingdom. I will draw attention to the fact that it is united by Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and, accordingly, formed a similar agenda in the negotiations of the Ukrainian delegation with the leadership of these countries. All four countries are not only influential members of the EU and NATO, but also members of the Great Seven (G-7).
And in a few days-from May 19 to May 21-there will be a summit of G-7 leaders in Hiroshima. And it was important for us to convey the position and needs of Ukraine to the leaders of individual countries of the Great Seven on the eve of this summit. Undoubtedly, in any negotiations of President Zelensky with the leaders of other countries in the first place, the issue of weapons, especially now, before the onset of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
And it is very symbolic that just before the arrival of the head of the Ukrainian state to Berlin, the German government formed another and record military assistance package to support Ukraine worth about 2. 7 billion euros. For comparison, by February 24, 2022, Germany did not supply any lethal weapon at all. We also remember the fluctuations in the German government in the supply of tanks and other heavy weapons to Ukraine. And here are such positive changes.
President Zelensky has also agreed on weapons and air defense in Italy. On May 14, the Evening Blitzvite of the Head of the Ukrainian State brought an agreement on the supply of Ukraine on May 14 in the coming weeks of dozens of armored vehicles and light tanks. On May 15, in the UK, it was agreed on the supply of Ukraine's air defense missiles and hundreds of new strike drones of the long range of flight range of more than 200 km.
In the UK, they also agreed on the training of Ukrainian pilots in the summer. Work continues to form a "fighter coalition". As in the previous story with the Tank Coalition, its effective implementation still takes some time. During visits to Rome, Berlin, Paris and London, the issues of macroeconomic support for Ukraine were discussed not only now but in the post -war period.
In all these European capitals, they confirmed the participation of their countries in the restoration of Ukraine after the end of the present Great War. In this context, I also remind that these days-May 15-16-in London there is an next international conference on the restoration of Ukraine. Another topic that brings together the Visits of Zelensky to four major European countries is the issue of European and Euro -Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
Germany, France and Italy are the most influential EU countries. Ukraine is preparing political soil to decide to start negotiating on the EU. Visits to the President of Zelensky to Rome, Berlin and Paris are in particular aimed at solving this problem.
And the presentation of the President of the Zelensky Prize of Karl the Great, which is perceived as the great-grandfather of a united Europe, is another symbolic confirmation that Ukraine is already de facto being considered part of a large European family. By the way, this prize is awarded for a significant contribution to Europe. And it is very significant that it has now been received by the President of Ukraine.
But today, the issue of NATO membership prospects is even more important for Ukraine. On the eve of the NATO Vilnius Summit, which will take place in July this year, Ukraine's diplomatic efforts are concentrated primarily on this issue. It is clear that as long as the current Great War is ongoing, NATO will not discuss Ukraine's accession to the Alliance now. But it is necessary to determine the algorithm of further actions in this direction, immediately after the end of the war.
Ukraine consistently, step by step, expands the coalition of fans of our country's accession to NATO. The specific result in this context was the signing of the President Zelensky and Chancellor by a joint declaration, in which, among other things, Berlin expressed support for Ukraine's movement in NATO. A similar declaration was also signed with France. For comparison, I would like to remind that in 2008 Germany and France blocked the provision of Ukraine and Georgia of NATO membership.
We are now seeing the opposite situation, although we still need to work on the consent of these countries to the accelerated movement of Ukraine to NATO. A separate and most complex topic discussed in Rome, Berlin and Paris is the theme of peace, peace talks and the conditions of end of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The greatest intrigue was caused by the meeting of President Zelensky with Pope Francis. There are many conversations around the "peaceful mission", even more conspiracy.
However, the verbal fog is hardly visible. The meeting of the President of Ukraine with the head of the Roman Catholic Church was important for clarifying this confusing and not sufficiently defined situation. The Ukrainian delegation was understood as the pontiff position on his "peaceful mission" and, in particular, clearly formulated its position on peace talks. President Zelensky stated the Ukrainian position in this matter very specifically: "We do not need mediators, we need a just peace.
" A fair peace was also declared in Berlin. German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz said the withdrawal of Russian troops is a prerequisite for establishing peace in Ukraine. The topic of just peace was probably discussed in Paris during a meeting of Presidents of France and Ukraine. It is very important that the leaders of all four major European countries, visited by President Zelensky, have publicly supported the formula of peace of the head of the Ukrainian state.
During each foreign visit, President Zelensky thanked our partners for his assistance-military, technical, macroeconomic and humanitarian, in particular, for giving her refugees from the war to Ukrainian refugees. And this is not a formal protocol action, but a sincere emotional thanks. Words of gratitude, meetings with journalists and members of the public are also a form of establishing emotional connection not only with the authorities of individual countries, but also with their societies.
Personal good relations with the leaders of individual countries are also of great importance for promoting national interests. This is very noticeable on the example of Italy. How many negative forecasts after coming to power in Italy a coalition of right parties. In Russia, it was very much hoped that it would bow to Italy to Moscow and destroy the unity of the Western coalition. But that didn't happen.
It is very noticeable that the current Prime Minister of Italy Georgia Meloni with great respect and sympathy treats President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. She burst into political Olympus also rapidly and unexpectedly as the current leader of the Ukrainian state. There is a good personal relationship between political leaders of the two countries and this has a positive effect on relations between Ukraine and Italy.
Over the almost 15 months of the Great War between Russia and Ukraine, the relationship between President Zelensky and Germany's leaders, the Federal Chancellor Scholz and the President of Germany Steinmeyer, has changed in the positive way. The current visit of the head of the Ukrainian state to Germany confirms and exacerbates this trend.
Zelensky's relations with the macron in general began during the presidential elections in Ukraine and have already become one of the factors of modern European policy. The visit of the President of Zelensky to the UK was a clear confirmation of the friendly relations of the leaders of the two countries, which eventually gives significant foreign policy results. UK prime ministers are changing, but our country's partnerships and their leaders' friendship remain unchanged.