The Key to Resolving the Tragedy Now Unfolding in Europe Is a United Europe
“The EU’s strategy must not consist solely of building a fence along the border and purchasing weapons. The strategy must also include the information sphere. We must fight for people’s minds,” said Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, during the 35th Economic Forum in Karpacz, at the panel discussion “Between Confrontation and Coexistence — What Should the West’s Strategy Toward Russia Be?”
The panel discussion also featured Philippe Lausberg, Senior Analyst at the European Policy Centre; Magdalena Vašáryová, former Slovak Ambassador to Poland; Vladimir Ponomarev, an expert at the Institute for Security and International Development; and Jacek Karnowski, Editor-in-Chief of the wPolsce24 television channel.
“Should the West now be thinking about how to cooperate with Russia? This also raises questions of moral choice. How can we envisage any kind of cooperation with Russia today when it continues its aggression against Ukraine? When Russia wants to control neighboring countries? I cannot imagine how it would be possible to abandon the sanctions policy against Russia unless it returns the occupied territories to Ukraine and withdraws its army from the occupied lands,” Pavel Latushka said.
During the discussion, Pavel Latushka emphasized the importance of combating Russian propaganda in Belarus:
“We must act and work toward internal changes in Belarus and fight for them. We must support democratic forces, support independent Belarusian media, and finance these efforts — and finance them on such a scale that they can have a truly enormous impact. If Russia currently controls Belarus’s information space and invests hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars in it, then the European Union, in order to effectively counter Russian propaganda, must invest a comparable amount in Belarusian society.”
During the discussion, Pavel Latushka noted that Russia’s so-called sphere of influence has significantly diminished in recent years. Russia is losing its influence in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia; it previously lost ground in Syria and is now losing influence in Venezuela, with Cuba potentially following in the future. He noted that, at present, Belarus remains Russia’s only real sphere of influence:
“This is the result of Lukashenka’s policy. Thirty-two years ago, he decided to pursue a one-vector foreign policy. He looked only toward Russia. And now, as a result, Lukashenka has effectively sold out Belarus’s foreign and military policy. This happened dramatically after the 2020 elections, when he lost them and, in order not to lose his position, asked Russia for support,” Pavel Latushka emphasized.
Pavel Latushka separately highlighted the need for a united Europe to effectively counter Russia’s aggressive policies:
“How can the war in Ukraine be brought to an end? The answer is a united and strong Europe that supports Ukraine, as well as proactive communication between European leaders and China, with the aim of persuading China to stop supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This is the key to ending the war,” Pavel Latushka emphasized.
The National Anti-Crisis Management is an official institutional partner of the 35th Economic Forum in Karpacz. The forum brought together more than 6,000 guests from 53 countries around the world and is hosting more than 500 panel discussions.
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