The EU and UK should drop their middle-power ambitions and accept Washington\u2019s dominance, Kirill Dmitriev says<\/p>\n
The EU and UK should abandon their ambitions to act as independent \u201cmiddle powers\u201d and accept their role as \u201cvassals\u201d under the US, Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev has said. \u00a0
\nDmitriev made the remarks on X on Wednesday while commenting on a series of posts by US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby. \u00a0
\n\u201cThe EU\/UK\u2019s faulty \u2018middle power\u2019 strategy started to freak out the US,\u201d Dmitriev wrote. \u201cEU\/UK vassals should know their place.\u201d \u00a0
\nThe term \u201cmiddle powers\u201d generally refers to countries that wield significant economic, diplomatic, or regional influence but lack the military and political reach of global superpowers. The concept has recently gained traction among some Western leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said earlier this year that \u201cthe middle powers must act together\u201d adding, \u201cif we\u2019re not at the table, we\u2019re on the menu.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
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Europe replacing US as NATO\u2019s main anti-Russia actor \u2013 expert<\/p>\n
Responding to the idea on Tuesday, Colby dismissed a collective middle-power strategy as a distraction. \u00a0
\n\u201cThere is a great deal of hubbub about a collective \u2018middle powers\u2019 strategy these days,\u201d Colby wrote. \u201cAt DoW, we are not concerned that this is a serious possibility. Rather, we are more concerned that a few allies and partners will think it is and waste valuable time, money, and political capital on a distraction.\u201d \u00a0
\nColby said the strategy was based on a \u201cfaulty understanding of international relations,\u201d arguing that middle powers lacked a coherent foundation for alignment. He also rejected suggestions that countries were distancing themselves from Washington and claimed the US was seeing an \u201cupsurge\u201d in demand for American military engagement. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s position on Ukraine is a \u2018dead end\u2019 \u2013 Kremlin<\/p>\n
The exchange comes as Washington plans to reduce troops and critical weapons systems in Europe and redirect some resources to Asia and other regions. \u00a0
\nAfter returning to the White House last year, US President Donald Trump pushed NATO members to commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, repeatedly accusing European allies of failing to share the bloc\u2019s military burden. Divisions within NATO also deepened over Trump\u2019s push to acquire Greenland and after several European members declined to support his military operation against Iran.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Former NATO commander urges bloc to give Trump \u2018timeout\u2019<\/p>\n
The US and European NATO members have also differed over the Ukraine conflict. While Trump has sought to broker a peace settlement between Moscow and Kiev, several EU governments have insisted that any agreement must be reached on Ukraine\u2019s terms and have continued to back military support for Kiev. \u00a0
\nEarlier this month, Dmitriev argued that EU and UK leaders were prolonging the Ukraine conflict to distract voters from mounting economic and political problems at home.
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The EU and UK should drop their middle-power ambitions and accept Washington\u2019s dominance, Kirill Dmitriev says The EU and UK should abandon their ambitions to act as independent \u201cmiddle powers\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t