Markevich about 'coalition of the willing': There is opinion that this is new Entente

Are there any attempts to form from a 'coalition of the willing' some alternative to a North Atlantic Alliance - such a topic periodically pops up in discussions about the need to organize own European troops.

Alexander Markevich, Head of the Department of Public Administration of the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus answered this question in the Spotlight Interview.

The formation of troops may be, to some extent, a sanctions confrontation with the US, because it is difficult to talk about unity within the military bloc if there are economic problems.

Alexander Markevich:

"There is such a point of view that this is a new Entente, but except for talks, no any concrete actions are seen, because it is very difficult to solve such organizational issues."

In such a case, it is necessary to decide who will command these European troops, what contingents they will consist of, what charters they will operate under. All of the above is a set of complexities. And most importantly, it is not coordinated with the United States, which is not the least important in NATO.

The expert suggested that the USA is not against, judging by their statements and their political actions. For example, it looks like they are not averse to giving Ukraine, in terms of the military component, to France, Great Britain or some other coalition. "But in this case, the principal position of the United States is also important, which is that they would like to settle the conflict at least at the political level, and then transfer the remained component to the Europeans," says Alexander Markevich.

Hence there are a lot of problematic issues, the number of which only increases but unclear for what purpose. And naturally, Europe is not a party to the negotiations held in Riyadh. But if they suddenly become a party to the negotiations, it will make the actual understandings much more complicated. That is why, as Markevich noted, Europe is not invited anywhere.