REUTERS, FRANCE 2
16.03.2024 • 06:41
The “Weimar Triangle” (France – Germany – Poland) was invented in the 90s, in the wake of German unification, to prepare for the integration of Eastern Europe into the E.U. and NATO. Although it subsequently fell into inactivity, it was resurrected yesterday in Berlin, with the tripartite summit meeting of Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Solz and Donald Tuskwith object the Ukrainian. Despite the show of unity in support of Ukraine, the differences between the German chancellor and the French president, which have become acute recently, were probably not able to be bridged either in the tripartite meeting or in their previous one-on-one meeting. It is indicative that in their brief presence before the press, the three leaders contented themselves with short statements, without accepting questions.
“All three of us support Ukraine, but we are not at war with Russia,” said Mr Olaf Solzwho in the previous days insisted, despite internal pressure from the German opposition, but also from his government partners, not to give Taurus missiles to Kiev.
On a different wavelength, the Emmanuel Macron insisted that “in Ukraine the security of all Europe is judged”. A few hours earlier, the French president had declared, during a long interview on the TF1 and France 2 television networks, that “if Putin wins in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Poland will be threatened.” And he insisted on his controversial position, which caused major reactions from the Germans and other allies, that the sending of troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out “if the situation worsens”.
For his part, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, fresh from his meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House, said yesterday’s meeting was “a positive, new start for the Weimar Triangle”, while announcing that there would be another summit meeting of the three this summer in his country. The news from yesterday’s tripartite meeting also includes Solz’s statement that Russia’s “frozen” (due to sanctions) assets will be used to fund aid to Ukraine.
Despite the Taurus dispute, Germany remains the largest, after the US, donor of military and economic aid to Kiev. Before the three met, Olaf Solz telephoned Volodymyr Zelenskiy to assure him that aid would continue and be stepped up. During their communication, the Ukrainian president prioritized supplying his army with armored vehicles, artillery shells and anti-aircraft defense systems.