Correspondent in Brussels
To discover
LIVE - War in Ukraine: follow minute by minute the evolution of the conflict
Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala, Janez Jansa, respectively prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia finally arrived in kyiv on Tuesday, early evening.
Accompanied by the strong man of Polish power, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Their train had crossed the Polish border early in the morning.
Shortly after 11 a.m., they had passed the city of Lviv, located 550 km west of the Ukrainian capital.
“
We must stop the tragedy unfolding in the East as quickly as possible
,” Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on his Facebook page, announcing his safe arrival.
The goal of the three leaders is to support Ukraine and President Zelensky.
In Brussels and in the capitals, this initiative has made people cringe.
Certainly, Mateusz Morawiecki informed the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of his projects, on the sidelines of the Versailles summit.
“
But without saying that he planned to go there less than a week later.
And he didn't say a word about it either during the meeting of the Twenty-Seven
”, confides a European diplomat.
It was not until Monday evening that the capitals and the presidents of the European institutions were alerted that the trip was planned for the next day.
And, on Tuesday, they discovered, surprised, the press release of the three prime ministers making it official.
"
They pulled the strings a bit by saying that he was coming in the name of the European Council.
They were not mandated by the Twenty-Seven
”, continues this same diplomat.
LIVE - War in Ukraine: Russia initiates an "exit from the Council of Europe" procedure, Biden in Brussels on March 24
Beyond questions of form, many wonder about the added value of such a move in the current context.
“It is a solitary initiative that carries risks.
There is a very delicate negotiation process between the Russians and the Ukrainians.
The Russians can use anything as an excuse or a pretext.
When you take such an initiative, you have to be sure that it will bring something,”
says a senior EU official.
"
It must not make the situation worse
," he worries again.
While a European summit is convened at the end of next week, another loose source: “
They will explain to us what was the objective of their visit
”
.
Emmanuel Macron perfectly summed up, on Thursday, on the sidelines of a trip devoted to Ukrainian refugees, the state of mind of a large majority of European leaders.
When he was asked about the possibility of him traveling to Moscow or Kiev himself, the president replied: "
I do not exclude anything and no political initiative, I will do it when I consider that it can be a useful and tangible result
".