Editorial. Between Moscow and Washington: The Diagonal of Madmen

Frankly, we don't see what could go wrong. On one side, there's Vladimir Putin : a ball of hatred and fury against the West in general, and the European Union in particular. For now, he's taking out his anger on the Ukrainians, whom he has largely underestimated. Wielding deception and the knife like no one else, the master of the Kremlin often delegates to his henchmen the honor of starting a diplomatic fire. This time, it was the turn of the very zealous Dmitry Medvedev to wave the red flag of a possible war under Uncle Sam's nose. On the other side of the table, player number two needs no introduction. He's the ineffable Donald Trump , the only master of the world after God, whose outbursts and obsessions serve as his political line. After a trade war with the rest of the world and a few diplomatic hiccups in the Middle East, the Oval Office occupant would like to win the Nobel Peace Prize by ending the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. But his policy of conciliation with Putin is a dead end. The Russian is playing the American by alternately using flattery and indifference.

Donald Trump has finally figured out this little game. And since he doesn't know half measures, he issues an ultimatum to Moscow and dispatches submarines to increase the pressure. What does Europe say about all this hodgepodge with potentially dire consequences? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Armed with their sacrosanct regulations and their unfailing good conscience, the Twenty-Seven watch the big powers tear each other apart without faith or law. Paralyzed by this diagonal of madmen. No, we definitely don't see what could go wrong when two of the three greatest powers openly challenge and eye each other up. As for China, it's counting the points and biding its time. Not crazy.