“It’s a hold-up, a territorial kidnapping”, denounces this Wednesday, September 28 on franceinfo the MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, after the holding of several referendums on the Russian annexation of Ukrainian regions. This Tuesday, the Russian authorities of Zaporijjia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk claimed Tuesday the victory of the “yes” in favor of an annexation.
>> Follow the situation in Ukraine live as pro-Russian authorities claim victory in annexation referendums
“The Europeans’ response must be extremely firm”, believes the MEP who is also President of the Special Commission on foreign interference in the democratic process of the European Union. In particular, it calls for “finally tackling the issue of energy imports”.
franceinfo: Are these polls a “masquerade”, as French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Tuesday evening?
Raphael Glucksmann, MEP Public square: It’s a masquerade, it’s an insult to the very idea of a referendum and an election. It’s simply a heist, a territorial kidnapping. You have a regime that adopts the headlong rush and decides to carve up its neighbor. The Europeans’ response must be extremely firm because otherwise it opens a Pandora’s box. In 2014, after the Crimean annexation referendum, it was because we did not respond firmly enough that we found ourselves in this situation. Today, we must put an end to the inconsistencies of our sanctions. For example, when it is said that we have excluded Russian banks from the Swift system, it is false. There are still banks that are part of this system. When it is said that we have sanctioned the property of the oligarchs and the Russian property in Europe, it is still a process that has not succeeded. There are sanctions to be taken to make these packages of sanctions coherent and we must finally tackle the issue of energy imports. Today, you know that Vladimir Putin’s war is still being financed to the tune of 450 million euros a day. For six months, since February 24, 2022, we have financed Vladimir Putin’s war with nearly 100 billion euros. At the same time, the European aid provided to Ukraine is six billion euros.
Do you hear this music that is rising at the moment about the ineffectiveness of sanctions, about the fact that they would penalize us more, us Europeans, than the Russian oligarchs?
There is this music everywhere in Europe today. The truth is that sanctions work. For the Russian army, it is currently becoming complicated to replace these stocks. There is a Russian economy which is collapsing and therefore we need to continue. This is a huge test for our democracies. We were educated, brought up, with the horizon of perpetual peace and there, we find ourselves in a situation of trouble where, it is true, today, we are paying a price because of the war started by Vladimir Cheese fries. However, what is the alternative to sanctions? It would be to give in. This would be to legitimize the possibility of a territorial kidnapping war in Europe. That would encourage Vladimir Putin to always go further. Today, we understand that the only way we have to restore peace on the European continent is for the Russian tyrant to understand that he cannot win this war and that he is doomed to lose it and accept his defeat.
Does this mean that the only solution is military? Isn’t there a place for diplomacy?
The place for diplomacy will come if the balance of power on the ground forces the Russians to go to the negotiating table. Today, what Vladimir Putin wants to do is the policy of the fait accompli. He will explain to us that from now on, these regions he kidnaps are Russian and that any attack against these regions will lead to a nuclear response. This is blackmail that we cannot accept because otherwise it means that, basically, you enter territory, you say it is your home and then you use the atomic bomb. There is an essential issue of credibility for Europe. It is imperative that we show that we are capable of sustaining an effort over the long term. It is true that it will be difficult. It is true that Europe is going to experience an extremely harsh winter and therefore we have to show that we are capable, through solidarity plans, of ensuring that the most vulnerable in Europe are not the main victims of the situation. We were able to deal with a pandemic by showing that we could show solidarity between European countries and even within European cities. We must do exactly the same thing in the face of Vladimir Putin’s war.