LONDON, February 12. /TASS/. At present, Europe is losing in its confrontation with Moscow from the political and economic point of view, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in his opinion piece for Daily Telegraph.
"Faced with a growing Russian threat, European governments have largely reacted passively. Leaders have lacked the courage or determination to cut business ties with the Kremlin. The noose is tightening around Europe’s neck, not Moscow’s," he wrote. "Europe is now losing the battle not only in economic terms, through higher gas prices for example, but also politically."
The head of the Polish government claimed that Moscow was "cynically and effectively exploiting European weaknesses," through its "painfully rational" policies. In his opinion, Europe’s dependence on Russian gas gave Moscow an opportunity to influence decisions related to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
"In the face of this menace, solidarity and cooperation are needed throughout the continent. Europe and its Transatlantic partners should treat events on the EU’s eastern border as a final warning. The West’s most effective bargaining chips will be potential economic sanctions and a clear intention to block Nord Stream 2. This should not just be the stance of Poland and other Central European nations," the Polish premier continued. "In these critical times, we need true leadership to eliminate the present menace and restore Europe to a path of security and development."
Concerns over Moscow’s alleged preparations for an invasion into Ukraine have been increasingly announced in the West and in Kiev recently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone. At the same time, the Kremlin press secretary did not exclude some possible provocations to justify such claims and warned that the attempts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict by force would carry extremely serious consequences.