Soros: Putin outwitted Europe without difficulty
Kyiv, March 14 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) – American financier George Soros, in a material published on the information website “The Daily Beast,” criticizes the European Union for the lack of large-scale assistance to Ukraine in the context of the confrontation between Kyiv and Moscow.
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Soros believes that the EU reacted incorrectly to Russia’s military operation in Crimea and thus “failed a key chance to breathe new life into its stale union.”
In his opinion, squabbles in European countries did not allow the task of preserving the union to be solved, and everyone continued to act out of their own narrow self-interest: “Europe was completely unprepared for this crisis, and Putin outwitted Europe without difficulty.”
Speaking in London, the financier said it was "heartbreaking to see European governments shrugging their shoulders at the very moment when we were finally witnessing an unprecedented popular uprising in the name of the European Union": "The Ukrainians have effectively proven that they are willing to sacrifice their lives, to become closer to Europe, which, at the same time, is in the process of disintegration.”
According to Soros, given the presence of Putin's troops in Crimea and the upcoming referendum, "the time was now for Europe to act and reinvigorate the soul-searing European Union."
“I would say passionately that (the European Union – ed.) should not be a failed experiment, but events in Ukraine are a wake-up call on this issue,” he said. “This is a challenge, and I hope that Europe will respond to it and actually restart its original mission...”
According to Soros, Europe should have offered assistance to the Ukrainian government as quickly as possible: “It is very important to respond in the right way, which does not necessarily impose sanctions on Russia, but helps Ukraine financially as well as technically.”
However, Soros believes that there is still hope for the future of the EU.
“We have just witnessed a dramatic test of strength between Russia and the European Union. Russia has come forward, the philanthropist believes. – Russia has benefited from the fact that Europe is disunited. But now that Russia is becoming a threat to Europe, it can once again become the force that brings Europe closer together. I have high hopes for Chancellor Merkel...we must never lose hope.”
Despite his flattering remarks about Merkel, Soros blames the Germans for undermining Europe's fragile union
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