Nikos Mpiniaris: The war in the Caucasus and the political incongruity of Europe

The EU was created as an economic union with the aim of committing Germany and France to a lasting peace, along with the whole of Europe. Today, after the deadly war in Yugoslavia, which ended with the US intervention, there is war in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan, for which Europe has its mouth, ears, and eyes shut.

It happens, however, that Azerbaijan and Armenia are geographically located in Europe, so this war is a European war. If this is true geographically, the EU’s silence shows that it is not geopolitically true. Turkey, a candidate country for EU membership, declares orbi et urbi that it is on the side of its “brothers” in Azerbaijan and that only if “the Armenian dogs” leave Nagorno-Karabakh will the war end.

It has delivered F-16s and other advanced military equipment to Azerbaijan and sent mercenaries from Syria to fight Armenian Christians. In interviews given by such mercenaries, they say that they went for the money, but also to fight for Turkey, which is helping them in the civil war, against Assad, as well as against the Russians who support the regime.

Led by Merkel

The utterly ridiculous UN, and this is one of the worst developments in international relations, is non-existent in the Caucasus war, as it is non-existent in Syria, Yemen, the Sino-Indian border, Kashmir, Palestine, Cyprus, and many others. points of conflict around the world. The US is facing an electoral contest, which will be of historic significance for the world superpower.

Trump, however, deals with masks and the coronavirus and does not have time for such “trifles”. Russia, Turkey’s ally in Syria and rival at the same time, sees its influence in the Caucasus being torn apart but is not reacting at the moment. It is true that it can wait until it makes a decisive move, as long as it maintains the supremacy in force in the region. But where will Russia make this move and what will it cost it?

Europe, as many analysts believe, is led by Chancellor Merkel. But France and Britain are also sitting at the table of European power. Unfortunately, the second is dealing with the Brexit, but also with the coronavirus, and the first also with the pandemic and President Macron’s plans for Islam, for Turkey, NATO, or sub-Saharan Africa, where former French possessions are in unrest due to ISIS and due to Turkey’s involvement in their issues.

The EU and the war in the Caucasus

What exactly is it and what exactly is the EU doing about the new European war in the Caucasus and Turkey’s involvement in it, as well as its involvement in the Libyan civil war, the Syrian civil war, and Iraq? Obviously the EU is “meditating”, trying to understand what world it lives in and what exactly this world wants. Obviously the EU should meditate, although I doubt it, on what exactly it is as a political entity, because a state it is not.

The EU itself declares that it seeks peace in Europe, prosperity, and good relations with the whole world, which it obviously cannot achieve because this world has a large part of it cut and sewn to the dimensions of Hobbes’ Leviathan. The EU managed to save Greece financially, despite our persistent efforts to lose everything. Now it is not even trying to say anything about the war in the Caucasus. It’s not even on the news!

Trump and the protests in the US monopolize the news beyond the coronavirus. The Caucasus, Syria, Iraq, Yemen have been wiped off the map. All these open issues, as well as the issue of the new European war, pose real ontological problems about the role and mood of the EU in the world as it stands today.