One of the various coordinated delusional / fake lines coming out of Europe these days is “Putin doesn’t want peace”. Here is the Estonian Foreign Minister demonstrating his ability to read a script and repeat it;
What we see is that Putin has not changed any course. He’s pushing more aggressively on the battlefield,” Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said in comments reported by AP. “It’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t want to have any kind of peace.” [1]
This is a favourite line of Kaja Kallas, also an Estonian. But it is universal in Europe. I’m sure von der Leyen has said it many times; indeed here she is saying it back in May reported by DW. [2]
The thing is, this is so unintelligent. It appears, they really thought that there could be some kind of “peace process”, and they could dictate the terms. This is the whole “Coalition of the Willing” nonsense. Putin, of course, absolutely wants peace. He also wants to achieve the very clear objectives, which he has stated on many occasions. The Kremlin keeps saying that this is their aim; the goals will be achieved, by war or by diplomacy. So; we understand, that the Europeans aren’t listening, at all. If they were they would at least say that “Putin does not want peace on our terms” or “Putin wants peace, but only on his terms”, which would be true.
When the Europeans conflate “Putin does not want peace” (not true) with “Putin does not want peace on our terms” (true) they unintentionally reveal their attitude: only our terms have substance. Russia’s interests have no substance at all. And, it is just this attitude, that got us into this mess in the first place, (along with provocations from the US neo-cons and liberal internationalists). They are, it seems, simply incapable of diplomacy. This is like a person who is incapable of listening to the aims and viewpoints of those around him, so as to achieve a modus operandi with them. Someone who just doesn’t listen. In social terms, this is a major disorder. (You don’t even have to love the Russians to at least act normally, and talk to them, and take account of their interests. As several wise commentators have pointed out, this is how we managed matters during the Cold War; it seems the current generation of leaders have lost the ability to talk with, and negotiate with, people who think somewhat differently from you).
This line “Putin doesn’t want peace” paints Putin, (and Russia), as a mad and irrational beast – bent on war for its own sake regardless of the deaths and the damage to his own country, a sort of 21st century Ivan The Terrible. Politically, this implausible tale is convenient for them, because if they denude the conflict of any political aspect they, and no one else, has to see how they contributed to it; by pushing Ukraine in NATO, (saying “oh, but we didn’t really mean it so Russia shouldn’t take it seriously”, is ridiculous), and by using Ukraine’s EU membership as an anti-Russian tool. It could be that this image of Putin as an irrational, bloodthirsty tyrant, is just a deliberate device, to hide these political realities. But, it really does appear that, at least most of them, actually believe these delusions.
They are like a herd of sheep huddling together telling themselves that the wolverine barking outside the corral is a huge, dangerous, rabid, bear dying to eat them all up, when in reality, the wolverine just wants them to keep their sheep in their own pen and not have them shit all along the edge of his forest. In fact, the wolverine, at one point, even hoped to be friends with the sheep.
The Europeans do not seem to realise how dangerous these delusions are. Wars start like this; with two sides both building up their armed forces, and each saying, (with more or less veracity), they they are doing this to defend against an imminent attack from the other. Have the Europeans really got the stomach for the kind of war where ballistic missiles rain down on their cities? Would the US actually defend Europe if Europe started a war? Do any of the UK’s Trident missiles actually work? (The last 2 tests failed [3]). There are only two possible outcomes if Europe starts a war with Russia; a total humiliation or mutually assured destruction, (that’s if our missiles and the French missiles even work). So; good luck with that.
In other news this week, the EU Commission is trying to push the Ministers down the path of stealing the Russian assets in Euroclear, to give to a corrupt regime in Kiev – one where two government Ministers and the President’s chief aide have recently all had to resign amidst scandal. Not fantastic optics for the EU. Can the plucky Belgians save us from this one? Maybe.
Notes
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/dec/03/nato-vladimir-putin-russia-rejects-ukraine-peace-deal-volodymyr-zelenskyy-europe-live-latest-news-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with%3Ablock-693004758f082543a5faf026#block-693004758f082543a5faf026
- https://www.dw.com/en/von-der-leyen-putin-does-not-want-peace/video-72569989
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68355395