A “global” solution ” “to Ukraine’s standstill” “

Although it has been overshadowed by the dangerous resurgence of violence in Israel and Palestine, the Ukrainian crisis is yet unsolved. The newly-elected president Petro Poroshenko is striving to bring the country back to normality, but contrasting signals and declarations arrive from Ukraine. During the recent visit of the Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini to Kiev, Poroshenko invited also Italy and Great Britain to take part in the negotiations with Moscow to find a solution to the crisis, in the belief that the two Countries would favour Ukraine’s claims. However, Minister of Defense Valery Geletey declared that there will be no further unilateral truce on the part of Ukraine’s armed forces and that negotiations with pro-Russian rebels will take place on condition of the latter’s renunciation to the use of weapons. Finally, the Foreign Minister of Kiev Pavel Klimkin, said that the Ukrainian government would do its utmost to re-conquer Crimea, whilst reiterating his intention to grant full autonomy to the peninsula and to Eastern regions, as envisaged in the proposal put forward by president Poroshenko. Thus the situation is not simple at all. It is evident that Kiev’s government cannot recognize the legitimacy of a referendum held under Russia’s pressure when the latter sanctioned the separation of Crimea, but it’s very unlikely that making explicit its commitment to recover Ukrainian sovereignty on the peninsula will benefit the peace process. Stands such as this one are understandable signs to national public opinion, but they risk further increasing the tension around the negotiating table. It is equally important to demand a bilateral ceasefire, but it’s unrealistic to request that arms are put down before negotiations begin. Today, in Ukraine and in Russia, as in many European and world countries, it appears ever more difficult for politicians to speak out to their people and seek their support proposing reasoned and realistic solutions. It is preferred to act on instinct, to use slogans, to lead people into believing that there are always simple solution to complex problems and that pursuing a goal only depends on determination. Often the situation is different, and the case of Ukraine is paradigmatic. The proposal of granting broad, constitutionally guaranteed autonomy to a region with a strong Russian population is perhaps the best perspective to exit the ongoing standstill, but it will need to be attentively followed, with patience and farsightedness. It will be necessary to accompany the internal stabilization of Ukraine with an international agreement between NATO and Russia on the military balances in the region. The entire package will need to be explained and shared with the population at large, which has been cynically fomented deliberately seeking to trigger the outbreak of armed conflict. The European Union has the ideal vocation and the technical competence to play a crucial role as mediator, but does it also have the will? In addition to economic management, this is another area in which the EU will have to change, if it still intends to have meaning in the future.