Author: muto2100muto2100 Date: Sep 2, 2008 08:25
uesday, 2 September 2008
Whatever you think about the conflict in Georgia – and opinions about
the rights and wrongs of it could hardly be more polarised – there is
one aspect on which there could surely be wide agreement. This fast
and furious little war, with far wider implications, was an ideal
opportunity for the European Union to show its diplomatic mettle.
Countries the world over have been crying out for the EU to take a
more activist role as mediator, where better to start than with South
Ossetia – potentially highly dangerous, but potentially soluble, too?
In fact, the EU's first moves were positive, as international
responses go. The French presidency of the EU placed the onus on
Nicolas Sarkozy and his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, to react
in the name of Europe. Exhibitionist and interventionist politicians
both, they made an admirably prompt start, exchanging their sacrosanct
August holidays for a few rounds of shuttle diplomacy. Within days
there was a six-point agreement, validated by the signatures of both
sides. It was a promising start: a single message, activist diplomacy,
and a realistic awareness of what was possible on the ground.
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