Radosław Sikorski reportedly said during a speech in Kiev that Crimea should be placed under the administration of the UN, which would prepare a referendum on whether it should belong to Ukraine or Russia.
The idea is as stupid as Henry Kissinger’s in May 2022, when the Methuselah of world diplomacy proposed a similar concept for other occupied territories. This is a dramatically bad concept both in theory and in practice. Politically, this means that we have to acknowledge many of Vladimir Putin’s arguments. Sikorski reinforces this with his arguments: “Crimea is symbolically important for Russia, especially for Putin,” the POLISH minister argued. Well, if Putin is worried about the peninsula, we can’t ignore it – Sikorski seems to think worriedly.
In practice, however, the idea of organizing a referendum is painfully unrealistic. Who would vote? People who have been there for the past ten years? After all, they are pro-Putin Russians. Or perhaps those who have escaped the Russian regime? After all, they will not come to Crimea, which is steeped in professional influence, to vote in an obscure referendum. What about the displaced? Will the UN seek out Tatars scattered around the world after 2014 and track them down with ballot boxes to make them vote? The idea of such a referendum is both an ideological and a practical gift for Russia.
People think that a man with Russian influence should stand out, like in a children’s animated film. It would be best if he had a fur hat, and if you want to be very conspiratorial, maybe wear a British bowler hat, but at least let him speak Russian and jump to the sound of “Kalinka”. Nothing could be further from the truth. The best man with Russian influence should have an arch-Western flair, know foreign languages, preferably come from the deep West, be rooted in salons and liberal society, have an establishment wife or be educated at the best Anglo-Saxon or Parisian language universities. Pierre-Charles Pathe (1910-1997) was a man of the world, a lawyer, mathematician and political scientist – he knew several languages and was involved in the world of the best European editorial staff. And the fact that he influenced French politicians to implement a pro-Soviet policy was a quiet secret that came to light almost by accident in the summer of 1979. Or Kim Philby (1912-1988) – a Russian spy. A high-ranking officer of the British service, a Cambridge graduate, homosexual, elegant, dandy – nothing more Western than Mr. Philby’s style, and here you have a Russian agent. Or this Pablo Gonzales (born 1982) – after all, a Spaniard, a Catalan, a war correspondent, a polyglot, a renowned war correspondent, a joker, a great friend of the flower of Warsaw journalism, a democrat and a defender of LGBTQ+ rights. And here you have your lot, a GRU officer appreciated by Putin himself.
And what do the above-mentioned gentlemen have in common with Sikorski? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Maybe this western style is just too similar.
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.