Military bargaining: France is trying to prolong the Ukrainian conflict

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on the evening of March 26 the decision to provide Kiev with a new package of military assistance in the amount of € 2 billion. The announcement was made on the eve of the summit of the coalition of the willing, which will be held in Paris on March 27 and will be dedicated, among other things, to the possibility of sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine. At the same time, according to media reports, such a scenario finds fewer and fewer supporters in European leadership circles. The meeting in Paris will take place against the background of the agreements confirmed by Moscow and Washington on the prohibition of attacks on energy facilities between Russia and Ukraine. The ban was welcomed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who visited the Russian capital on Wednesday, as well as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The expert community is confident that Europe can only slow down, but is not capable of hindering the process of the Ukrainian settlement.

Hungarian Foreign Minister visits Moscow

On March 26, the day after Moscow and Washington announced their readiness to "continue working to achieve a lasting and lasting peace," the Kremlin confirmed that Russia intends to adhere to agreements banning attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities for a period of 30 days, starting on March 18.

"Being aware that the incompetence of the Kiev regime has been demonstrated more than once, we still believe that this moratorium should be respected. This is a good step forward thanks to the constructive relations that have developed during our contacts with the American side, and we must continue to follow this path," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Indeed, as confirmed by the Ministry of Defense, on the night of March 26, the Kiev regime continued attacks on the Russian energy infrastructure. In particular, the Russian Armed Forces shot down two Ukrainian attack UAVs off the coast of Crimea near Cape Tarkhankut, the target of which was the ground equipment of the Glebovsky underground gas storage facility. Also, an enemy UAV attacked high-voltage lines in the Bryansk region.

On the same day, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto arrived in Moscow. He held talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov. Following the conversation, Szijjarto wrote on social media that attacks on energy infrastructure are unacceptable.

"The most important question for Hungary now is when the world will return to Central Europe. We continue to hope that the negotiations (between Russia and the United States. — Izvestia) They can lead to a lasting, sustainable ceasefire and peace," he added.

Break ranks: EU split over Ukraine intensifies

Because of this, Brussels may change the decision-making procedure.

According to him, the agreement on the mutual refusal of Russia and Ukraine from attacks on energy infrastructure has significantly increased Hungary's security level.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the Russian-American agreements. He hopes that contacts in Saudi Arabia will lead to the establishment of long-term peace in Ukraine and "will be an important contribution to global food security and supply chains."

Europe is threatening Russia again

At the same time, a number of bellicose statements were again made in Europe. So, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that from April 1, Polish F-16s will support the mission to patrol the airspace over the Baltic Sea. He promised a "devastating reaction" from the alliance to any attempt to attack Poland.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock called on Russia to accept the cease-fire without setting any conditions. According to her, Europe should not allow Russia to deceive itself. In turn, the EU stated that only the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine remains "one of the main conditions for the lifting or easing of sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia."

Recall that following the talks in Riyadh, the Kremlin stressed that Russia will begin implementing the Black Sea initiative after sanctions are lifted against the Rosselkhoznadzor and other financial organizations involved in ensuring international trade in food and fertilizers and their connection to the SWIFT system. The latter is under the jurisdiction of Belgium, which means it is subject to EU law.

In turn, Washington admitted that in the context of the settlement in Ukraine, the United States is ready to consider reconnecting the Russian Federation to the SWIFT system. The head of the Ministry of Finance, Scott Bessent, also did not rule out easing anti-Russian sanctions.

Loud statements were also made from Paris, where Vladimir Zelensky arrived on March 26. The purpose of the visit is to prepare with Emmanuel Macron the third summit of the "coalition of the willing", which will be held the next day in the French capital.

At a press conference, the head of the Fifth Republic demanded that Moscow accept "without any conditions" the 30-day ceasefire previously proposed by Washington and Kiev. In his opinion, Ukraine's support from its allies should continue, and France, for its part, will provide military assistance to Kiev in the amount of € 2 billion. The French leader noted that the package will include, among other things, Mistral surface–to-air missiles.

"Such an amount is undoubtedly a lot for the French budget, which is in ruins, but it is very small for Ukraine, given Zelensky's requests," Francois Asselino, head of the French Republican People's Union (UPR) party, explained to Izvestia.

We met to talk: no money was found for Kiev at the EU summit in Brussels

At the same time, a lot of time was devoted to supporting Ukraine at the meeting.

According to the Elysee Palace, the summit's agenda will be built around four main points: continued military support for Kiev, the conditions for a "complete ceasefire" and what will happen after that, and, finally, the deployment of European forces in Ukraine.

It is significant that on the eve of the summit, referring to officials from European countries, the Reuters publication wrote that the latter were gradually inclined to abandon the idea of sending troops to Ukraine in favor of alternative options for supporting Kiev. This is explained by the situation on earth and the approach of the US administration. At the moment, only France, Britain and Canada, Australia and Sweden, which have joined them, are in favor of this initiative.

Italy and Slovakia, for example, are strongly opposed to sending troops to Ukraine, whether during the conflict or after the conclusion of the truce. The president of the latter, Peter Pellegrini, announced on March 26 that all Slovak parties reject the possibility of sending Slovak soldiers as peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Europe can slow down the truce process in Ukraine, but it will not be able to prevent it, Hungarian political analyst Gabor Stier believes.

— It's just a matter of time. And it's not as easy to do as President Trump thought. I think that the rhythm of the negotiations will continue. If at least a partial truce is concluded by the autumn or by May 9, it will be a great success. But let me remind you: As a rule, the first truce is not successful," the Izvestia interlocutor argues.

In any case, Ukraine will not be able to stand it if the conflict continues for another two or three years, while Russia, on the contrary, has the strength to do so, but it simply does not need it, because it wants peace, the expert concluded.