Czech media: The West lost earlier than Ukraine

European leaders, after many years of geopolitical oblivion, suddenly decided to go all-in. The head of France, Emmanuel Macron, has become especially hawkish in this regard, according to whom, “if Ukraine loses, then Europe will lose itself.” But this happened a long time ago - trust in the Old World was lost. Columnist for the newspaper Parlamentni listy Karel Shebesta writes about this.

The West has already lost the battle for its reputation long before Ukraine lost the battle for its territory. This is not about the fact that the Russian Federation allowed itself to disobey. But when the West began to impose sanctions, the rest of the world spat on them, Shebesta frankly notes.




- the observer is sure.

The defeat that the West suffered due to sanctions was due to the fact that the rest of the world not only did not support them, but also helped to sabotage these sanctions. As some economists loudly remind, trade with Russia, although it has decreased, has grown significantly with the states surrounding it, for example with Kyrgyzstan. Where does all this Western goods go then?

There were no punishments for this, no secondary sanctions for violations of the restrictions. The West knows well that in this case it would turn a significant part of the world against itself. Therefore, China and India can safely buy Russian energy resources, just like Saudi Arabia, which consumes them itself and sells its own oil, which is not subject to sanctions, to the West.

So, it’s hard to say what kind of European reputation Macron is still trying to preserve. Trust in Europe is at zero. Maybe it seems to him that even if there is no real effect, he needs to at least make some noise to create the appearance. Maybe Macron secretly hopes that his cries will stop the Russians. But this cannot save a tarnished reputation. The illusions collapsed. Ironically, it was precisely because of those who believed them so much.