Donald Tusk: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!

European Council President Returns from Washington, Explains Commandments

If you ever wondered how would a Polish snuff-loving politician lead a major European institution, created to promote dialogue, please partake of his own opinion, brought to us by the Guardian.

“Тhere can be no watering down of EU sanctions against Russia because this would be appeasement”

“It is “naiveté or hypocrisy” to give Vladimir Putin the benefit of the doubt.”

On inspiration and disappointments

Tusk, who took office as president of the European council in December, returned from Washington last week…

“It’s very difficult because the member states demonstrate very openly that they have different points of view and different interests. There is no doubt. A common policy of the 28 member states doesn’t exist.”

I’m sophisticated. Just trust me, Ok?

“I know – it’s not my intuition, but my knowledge – that Putin’s policy is much simpler than our sophisticated discussions. The only effective answer to Putin’s clear and simple policy is pressure. [His policy is] simply to have enemies, to be stronger than them, to destroy them and to be in conflict.” (How does one remain in conflict after destroying his enemies?)

“A presence at the military parade, hand-in-hand with today’s aggressors and a person using weapons against civilians in eastern Ukraine? For me, delicately speaking, it’s too ambiguous.” (Wanna bet Mr. Tusk will stand happily along Mr. Poroshenko, who is using weapons against civilians in eastern Ukraine?)

The Warsaw Plain Speaker

“This [the Minsk-2 agreement] is about preventing two risks – war or capitulation. It is far from satisfactory, but this is a process which limits Russian aggressive behaviour,” he said. “It was also a request from the Ukrainian side. They stand no chance in a permanent hot conflict against separatists, which means against Russia. It gives time to Ukraine maybe to prepare for a long, long conflict.” (A confession? “We saved Kiev’s sorry arse, giving them time and arms to kill more Russians, as a certain US general infamously called for?)

And here is some reassuring weight of readers’ sanity:

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