By Deng Xianlai and Li Jizhi
The US and European countries have launched a series of diplomatic actions around the Ukraine issue recently. Some analysts pointed out that the US tends to "add fuel to the fire" while European countries tend to "put out the fire".
US tends to "add fuel to the fire"
The US has played up the tension in Ukraine through public opinion hype up, threats of sanctions, and military escalation.
The US kept releasing intelligence to the outside world, claiming that the war is imminent. Jake Sullivan, US National security adviser, said on February11 that US intelligence indicates that Russia may "invade" Ukraine before February 20. According to US media reports citing US government officials, Russia set the time of the invasion on February 16. All these claims were denied by both Russia and Ukrainian President.
In addition, the US repeatedly threatened that if Russia "invades" Ukraine, the US as well as its allies will impose severe economic sanctions on Russia. Recently the US shipped several batches of weapons to Ukraine and deployed troops to NATO allies close to Ukraine, such as Poland and Romania, promising to provide Ukraine with more military and economic assistance.
European countries tend to "put out the fire"
Leaders of many European countries have been actively mediating the situation in Ukraine recently, and European countries are more inclined to seek solutions. The leaders of Germany, France and Poland met in Berlin on February 8. The three parties emphasized that they should maintain talks with Russia so Europe will not suffer from war.
In addition, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement on February 12 emphasizing that the EU and European countries are still coordinating on the situation in Ukraine, and the EU diplomatic institutions are still operating in Kyiv. Borrell's statement is clearly different from the evacuees of the US embassy and the US citizens in Ukraine.
Substantial differences
Analysts pointed out that the different responses of Europe and the US responded in the Ukraine crisis exposed the deep differences between the two sides in terms of geostrategy.
Due to the poor performance of the Biden administration in internal affairs, the US will use the Ukraine issue to divert domestic attention. At the same time, by making Russia a common enemy, the US can win over and bind European allies, so as to maintain the European order dominated and controlled by the US. It is in the interest of the US to keep the situation in Ukraine tense.
Analysts pointed out that a military conflict over Ukraine will have limited impact on the US. However, it will lead to a series of unbearable consequences for European countries, including a large influx of refugees, huge economic losses due to sanctions against Russia, and the grounding of the Nord Stream 2 project. In addition, compared with Russia's small proportion in US foreign trade, Europe, especially countries close to Russia, have close trade relations with Russia, and therefore Europe has more concerns about sanctions against Russia. For this reason, avoiding conflict in Ukraine is Europe's primary goal.
