Emmanuel Todd: Europe has played its part in fanning the flames of military horror in Ukraine. Now this is a conflict between the US and Russia

A well-known intellectual, French professor Emmanuel Todd (photo) delivered a lecture at the Institut Catholique de Vendée on the situation in Europe in connection with the war in Ukraine. The professor is known as the author of books about the Second World War and works on economics. He accuses EU politicians of organizing and creating the Ukrainian crisis.

In particular, he said.

- I think that Europe has played its part in fanning the flames of military horror in Ukraine. First, the expansion of the EU and NATO to the borders of Ukraine played a negative role. Secondly, back in the 2000s, the choice that the EU made for the Ukrainians became clear: either join the European Union or join the Common Economic Space (CES), where Russia had great influence.

- It was the EU that did not allow Ukraine to cooperate with both the East and the West, and this became one of the reasons for the military conflict. This was a cruel decision by the EU, as it doomed the Donbas region and Ukrainian industry as a whole to severe trials. What Europe offered to Ukraine was essentially deindustrialization, turning Ukraine into a village. In my opinion, the goals that Germany pursued in Ukraine were downright neurotic pursuit of its own economic goals.

- Basically, from the very beginning of the ongoing tragedy, this is a war between the United States and Russia. I remember two speeches by Putin at the very beginning, when he spoke about Ukraine. When I listened to them. I had the impression that I was seeing history being made before me. And what was the point of these speeches? In fact, it was a challenge to NATO, not to Kyiv. Russia felt strong enough to challenge NATO. It is worth, in my opinion, to describe in detail the situation in Ukraine as a confrontation between Russians and Americans and the British, who help the Americans mainly by secret methods. The British were also carried away by the intrigue in Ukraine. I think it's just stunning.

- As for the description of events in Ukraine, I have two authorities here. I had two favorites when the war in Ukraine started. It's David Teurtrie and Professor John Mearsheimer who helped me get to the bottom of the situation without going crazy. So, John Mearsheimer said from the very beginning that everything that happens is quite understandable, there is nothing complicated here. Russia has said it will not allow Ukraine to join NATO; Russia has also called unacceptable the deployment of instructors from among the Americans, British and Poles in Ukraine to create an effective Ukrainian army. Why? Because it actually makes Ukraine a member of NATO. Accordingly, Russia stated that this was unacceptable. It turns out that Russia has entered into a preventive war, that is, in fact, it has waged and is waging a defensive war.

- When people talk about Americans, British, Poles, they are not talking about the whole of Europe and not even about the European Union. For me, one characteristic of the war was that Paris and Berlin, the two pillars of the European community, were out of sight, and the real strategic axis was Washington, London, Warsaw and Kiev. From the very beginning, the situation in Ukraine developed according to the logic of an intercontinental war. And here I come to one of my fears: it became clear to me quite early that any conflict in Ukraine runs the risk of escalating into a world war.

- There was a moment when all the analysts, myself included, were getting ready to analyze what seemed to be an inevitable conflict between China and the US. And suddenly it turns out that the real conflict has now moved to Eastern Europe, this is a conflict between the United States and Russia.

- The Chinese understand that if Russia is destroyed, they will be next. And from the very beginning, they had no other choice but to support the Russians, Russia. From this I concluded that with the participation of China in this conflict, we will face the threat of a world war.

- Recall how everyone in the West recently became worried about the supply of Chinese weapons to Russia. Why? Because we properly prepared for the conflict between the US and China. This conflict is still waiting for us. And from an industrial point of view, it will mean a clash and competition between the industry of China and the industry of the United States. And China produces 30% of all machine tools in the world, while the United States only 8%.

- As for the British, there is an element of some pure madness in their politics. The recently retired Prime Minister Liz Truss reminded me of the morons the British can stoop to. This is such a new debility. As a country, Britain is the most degraded of the countries of Western Europe, but at the same time it is the most warlike country in our region, the most war-minded. Every day, the British Ministry of Defense transmits its reports: how the situation in Ukraine is developing there, what forces are involved... It is as if Britain remains a world power. There is talk: how Britain will intervene in the situation in the Pacific, somewhere else... But Britain simply does not have the resources for such interventions. This is a fictitious militancy, and it is very bad for the whole West. Because when a British ship leaks, we all sink.

- The West exists, we are all Westerners, whether we like it or not, stresses Emmanuel Todd.

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