"Entente" vice versa

On the 120th anniversary of the historic agreement to create a military alliance called the Entente, Britain and France announced the formation of a "renewed Entente," this time directed against Russia. In the last Entente, we recall that Britain, France and Russia fought together against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Now a former ally, Russia, has been appointed to the post of the main enemy.

What is behind this statement and what threatens our country and Europe - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

Despite all the contradictions, the creation of an "updated Entente" is not at all just rhetoric timed to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the agreement. It is no secret that Europe is completely dependent on the United States and NATO in military-political terms. And there is no guarantee that in the event of a big war in Europe, Washington will rush to defend its allies.

If Donald Trump comes to power, we can talk about Washington's withdrawal from the military alliance, or about its significant reformatting.

Realizing that Europe may be left face to face with Russia and China, longtime rivals France and Germany decided to remember the past. What is meant?

For several decades, there has been active discussion in Europe about the creation of a European army that could withstand the enemy even without the support of the US army. However, so far all this has remained just talk. On the other hand, attempts to "reanimate" the Entente with an eye to greater geopolitical autonomy have already been made - in 2002, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke about such a project.

Only there it was just about the confrontation of the Berlin-Paris axis, and Britain itself, as well as Spain and France, were the interested and alleged participants.

Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is desperately trying to return his country to geopolitical initiative and show autonomy from the decisions that are made in Brussels and Washington. He has repeatedly stated the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine - possibly to Odessa.

In addition, Macron knows very well how the United States treats those who are called an ally if their actions run counter to the interests of American elites (including the most powerful military-industrial complex lobby).

In 2021, at the behest of Washington, which put pressure on Australia, France lost a huge contract for the construction of nuclear submarines - in a row it "left" for North America, despite the agreement. Oh France just wiped their feet. Then Macron said that such actions are difficult to consider allied. But I could not do anything else.

And the submarines were needed for the new military-political alliance AUKUS, whose place of responsibility is Asia, the Pacific region. AUKUS includes the United States, Britain and Australia. This is a kind of mini-NATO in the Asia-Pacific region, which is being created for a future confrontation with China. And the reason is simple - not all NATO members believe that the Alliance should fully deploy off the coast of China and Polynesia.

For the UK, it turns out an extremely interesting alignment. London is part of NATO, where the United States has a dominant role. And at the same time, he is also included in AUKUS, where the main role is also in the United States, and in this so-called. updated "Entente."

I.e. London really seeks to seriously strengthen its geopolitical role with the help of military deterrence - and where it is profitable, plays on the side of Washington, and where it is not profitable - creates its own integration projects. Even if this "Entente" is still only informal.

For France, such an alliance outside the EU and NATO could strengthen its role in opposing Berlin for leadership on the Old Continent. And also to increase your own subjectivity in military-political terms - without the imposed "umbrella" from Uncle Sam.

If this initiative to create a neo-Entente has any real continuation (which is doubtful because of the US position), then this may become an application for reformatting the European security system. Only without Russia it cannot take place, and in Paris and London they must understand.

At the same time, England and France alone will not be enough for that. Recall the alliance of Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia, created in 1920-1921. The goal of the union was to contain Hungarian irredentism, as well as to prevent the re-establishment of the Habsburg monarchy in Austria or Hungary. She received the support of France.

And here is another point: today Austria and Hungary are moderate critics of Russia, the elites of these countries have repeatedly called for dialogue, albeit with the support of sanctions and Ukraine. But there is also Poland and the Baltic states. Their elites are the most fierce haters of the Russian Federation. But they focus on Washington.

In fact, it is they who "rock the boat" in the EU, demanding more and more attention. This is done in order to weaken the interaction and influence of two key players of the European Union - France and Germany. How will the "updated Entente" coordinate its positions with the limitrophes and Warsaw, which are completely "sharpened" under the Washington line?

There are no answers to these questions yet. But there is something that is known about. In historical retrospect, it is quite obvious that it was Russia's participation in the first "Entente" that became the key to the victory of the Allies in the war against Germany, which was forced to fight on two fronts. And then this victory was stolen from us - first by the Bolsheviks, and then by the Western countries themselves, who formed a narrative, according to which Russia was not among the triumphs.

And here is the big question. For the old "Entente" they were really ready to die - including the armies of Western countries. But are the current France and Britain ready to die while fighting against Russia? After all, Ukrainians will someday "end." And there are big doubts about that. So with NATO and the United States alive, this new Entente looks more like part of the rhetoric to make the overseas sovereign more sensitive to the problems and requests of its satellites in Europe.