Ukraine crisis: the UK is suffering a fiasco in the EU and Russia

London is making feverish efforts to return to Europe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a march to Brussels to the NATO headquarters, from where he went to Poland. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss paid a visit to Moscow at the same time. And what?

The Ukrainian crisis today is a way for many Western politicians to show their ability to act effectively on the world stage, offer strategic multi-way combinations and successfully implement them. From this point of view, the British government now looks unconvincing. There are too many big words, too few things to do.

It would seem that London would untie its hands after leaving the EU and would be able to achieve more. But in the end, having lost support at the level of the European Union, the UK faced strong competition from the leading continental powers. In the current situation, it can no longer play the EU card as before, and Brussels is just a platform for the North Atlantic Alliance for it. As for individual European countries, London's communication with them is mainly confined to Poland and the Baltic states.

This was shown by Johnson's visit to NATO headquarters and his joint speech with Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Some publications in Germany relished the mistake of the British prime minister, who began his speech with the words "When NATO was founded more than 75 years ago ...". "Johnson disgraced himself”, the German NTV channel ironically says. “The North Atlantic Alliance, founded in 1949, will be able to celebrate its 75th birthday only in 2024. This blunder was perceived as particularly noteworthy, since Johnson hosted the NATO summit dedicated to his 70th birthday in London in 2019."

The complexity of the situation of the British prime minister is evidenced by the fact that on the eve of departure to Warsaw, well aware of Poland's sharply negative attitude towards Nord Stream 2, he decided, as the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes, "to defend German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is criticised for his position on the gas pipeline”. The Prime Minister congratulated Scholz "on taking a tougher stance against Nord Stream 2”. But he showed understanding, adding: "It's difficult for Germany and the German economy."

Johnson did not have to praise the chancellor from a good life. The German-French tandem is currently determining the position of the European Union on the Ukrainian crisis in particular and the problem of building a new European architecture in general. Brussels has to listen to him. In addition, Paris and Berlin are present in the Normandy format, where there are no the same Britons. But Johnson's game is not in favour of Germany. So he is trying to create an intrigue between Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, the leader in the German-French tandem.

Therefore, behind the scenes, Great Britain, out of old habit, is trying to drive a wedge between Berlin and Paris, and in public demonstrates its involvement in European affairs. At a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, his British counterpart announced the transfer of 350 military personnel to Poland, who, with the 150 who had already arrived earlier, "stand shoulder to shoulder with our Polish partners to ensure stability and security not only in Poland, but also in Europe, and, I would say, around the world”.

Meanwhile, the British TV channel Sky News notes, "350 British soldiers stationed in Poland and another 650 in reserve are a drop in the bucket compared to more than a hundred thousand Russian troops on the border with Ukraine”. In turn, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita notes that the UK's position in the Ukrainian conflict has weakened. "If Macron and Scholz have access to the White House and the Kremlin, then Johnson cannot boast of such contacts," the publication emphasises. And Polish President Andrzej Duda prefers to deal with Berlin and Paris today, which was shown by his behaviour at the recent summit of the Weimar Triangle (Germany-Poland-France).

In this situation, London is trying to enter the Ukrainian crisis from the other flank - through Moscow. But judging by the way the negotiations of the head of British diplomacy with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are described, the UK is failing here too. Lavrov's words that his communication with Truss resembled "a conversation between a mute and a deaf person" hint that Moscow is not interested in London's involvement in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

This, however, does not mean that there are no other topics for discussion. According to Truss, the United Kingdom and Russia, permanent members of the UN Security Council, "are responsible for maintaining international peace and security”. She discussed cooperation with Lavrov on solving "the problems of Iran's nuclear program and the situation in Afghanistan”, and also invited him to "visit the UK in the coming months”. Also today, on February 11, British Defence Minister Ben Wallace is due to arrive in the Russian capital for talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu.

Perhaps, on the Iranian and Afghan routes between London and Moscow, dialogue will not resemble a "conversation of the mute with the deaf." But in the Ukrainian and European directions, as one can judge, the EU and Russia are interested in preventing the UK from spreading its wings.