Copyright © 2024 Euromaidanpress.com

The work of Euromaidan Press is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation

When referencing our materials, please include an active hyperlink to the Euromaidan Press material and a maximum 500-character extract of the story. To reprint anything longer, written permission must be acquired from [email protected].

Privacy and Cookie Policies.

Intermarium countries can no longer count on West to defend them against Russia, Honcharenko says

Oleksiy Honcharenko
Oleksiy Honcharenko
Intermarium countries can no longer count on West to defend them against Russia, Honcharenko says
Edited by: A. N.

The countries between Russia and Old Europe lying between the Baltic and Black Seas can no longer count on the West to defend their interests against Moscow, Oleksiy Honcharenko. The US is pulling away from Western Europe, and Western Europe is seeking to expand cooperation with Russia.

In this emerging situation, the Verkhovna Rada deputy says, the Intermarium countries must look to themselves and both strengthen themselves individually and by creating a Baltic-Black Sea Union. Otherwise, he suggests, their future is likely to be bleak indeed.

“Six years ago, Ukraine couldn’t believe that its existential fear of Russian imperialism would become a reality.” But Moscow’s seizure of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas shows that “Putin dreams about the restoration of empire,” and that talk about that cannot be written off, as Macron does, as East European “’suspiciousness.’”

But what is worse is that recent developments raise questions about how effective NATO would be “in the case of direct or hybrid aggression by Russia against Lithuania, for example” and whether “the European countries would declare war” to stop Moscow?

The failure of coordination about the actions of Türkiye in Syria raise new doubts, Honcharenko says.

Consequently, he continues, “the countries of Eastern Europe must recognize that in the existing geopolitical system, we are at the edge of Europe. A frontier zone does not leave any space for half tones. If we want to survive subjects, we must be strong,” integrating our region and building our defense capacity via cooperation with the US.

“A Baltic-Black Sea Union was already symbolically formed in June of this year during the sadly well-known voting to allow the return of the Russian delegation to PACE,” the Ukrainian deputy says. “Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia must become the first members of this union … and work to attract Belarus to it” eventually.

The idea of such a union has a long history. [For the best discussion of that, see Marek Chodakiewicz’s Intermarium: The Land between the Black and Baltic Seas (Transaction Publishers, 2012).] But it is again gaining moment because the EU and NATO “super-national projects” require transformation.

Perhaps not surprisingly, France’s Macron has responded to this need by calling for a pan-European project “from Lisbon to Vladivostok” based on “freedom, defense and progress.”

But he seems to forget that any such union with Russia in it will lack at least one of these elements, defense, and may lack the others as well.

Today, the voice of Eastern Europe in the EU is often not welcome or listened to, Honcharenko says. Macron, for example, has told the Poles bluntly to end “all Polish-American defense initiatives” because they are inconsistent with his vision of a broader Europe. He does not see that such attitudes only encourage Russian aggressiveness.

In this situation, the Ukrainian deputy argues, “one must understand that a Baltic-Black Sea Union gives our countries control over the strategic corridor between the two seas as well as outlets to the seas. With Georgia added to the mix, it also provides a way out to the Caucasus and Near East region.”

To that extent, at a time when Europe is reducing attention to the values which formed it and becoming again the iron and steel community it was in the 1950s, such an Intermarium arrangement is clearly “more than just iron and steel,” Honcharenko says’.

If Western Europe can’t show the way forward, the Baltic-Black Sea region must.

But such a contribution will only be possible if each of the countries increases its military capacity and if they collectively are able to count on the support of the US. “Independently of pro-Russian Trump, the US always will remain the chief opponent of Russia, just as we must;” and American help to its allies has “as a rule been rapid” and convincing.

The new alliance must include not only a military component but political and economic ones as well, he says. It is vital that its members “escape from the paradigm of conflict between West and East and recall the no less important geopolitical direction of North-South.” Such an alliance will promote that.

“In one form or another, a Baltic-Black Sea Union is strategically the only possible response for out countries to the challenges of today and the new geopolitical situation. We need to begin to work on the practical realization of a Baltic-Black Sea strategy.” Only by becoming stronger together do we have a chance to survive.

Read More:

Edited by: A. N.
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.  We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society. A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!

To suggest a correction or clarification, write to us here

You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Please leave your suggestions or corrections here



    Euromaidan Press

    We are an independent media outlet that relies solely on advertising revenue to sustain itself. We do not endorse or promote any products or services for financial gain. Therefore, we kindly ask for your support by disabling your ad blocker. Your assistance helps us continue providing quality content. Thank you!

    Related Posts